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Pursuits vs. Presence of Mind

Two of my favorite all-time episodes of The Andy Griffith Show are "Man in a Hurry" and "The Sermon for Today." Both episodes take you on a tour of a typical Sunday, our designated day of rest, disrupted by unreasonable endeavors, and the mayhem, distress, and personal clashes that always makeup the fallout of such untimely activity.  We laugh because we've been there. How many times have we overloaded ourselves on holidays, vacations and weekends, and wound up ten times more exhausted than when we began? The humor lies in the irony -- in trying to power-pack our leisure time, the way we do the rest of our schedules, we completely sabotage our own efforts. We turn our "down time" into just another version of our "up time" -- multi-tasking, scheduling, hurrying, exerting....exhausting!

As women, we tend to guilt-trip ourselves about resting. Resting isn't loafing. When Proverbs 31 talks about how the ideal woman doesn't indulge in idleness, I'm pretty sure it's not talking about much-needed rest, time for reflection and devotion, or time to refresh ourselves. Without these things, we become emotionally and spiritually bankrupt, and incapable of being the superwoman we think we should be. Idleness could be better described as engaging in a lot of meaningless activities, rather than making good use of our talents, such as too much retail therapy, celebrity gossip, or excessive amounts of time being self-centered.

As you plan your week, don't forget to build in some true down time. Unless we stop our clambering around for a few moments, we will never gain the presence of mind to put things in perspective. When we stop, breathe, and rest, we can hear from the Lord, be inspired, have fresh ideas, creative thoughts, and a clearer picture of the challenges that lie ahead. 

The Word tells us to seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm 34:14). Pursuing peace implies we need to make a deliberate effort to look for it. If we are too busy chasing everything else, we will never achieve that.  Add "REST" to your daily to-do list. Slow down. Schedule your quiet time, and stick to it. 

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