Life can be so fast paced. We are trained to move at the speed of light, and if you have the ability to move quicker than that you are urged to do so. We eat on the go. We send text messages rather than making phone calls. We cram 590,983,000 things into a day, and we say it’s being productive. By no means am I passing judgment; I used to live my life this way ( Truth moment: the reformation continues; I' m trying to learn to do less). I called it “maximizing my day. In truth, I should have been calling it “killing myself slowly.”
Let me give you the back story. The first week of May was busier than normal. For anyone who knows me knows that I am a busy person. (If I gave you a complete list of the things that did on a day-to-day basis it would take up most of blog. If you care to know what my daily tasks were, send me an email.) In addition to the things that I did on the norm, I volunteered to house-sit two dogs and a teenage girl. (Side note: I have so much respect for people who have children. Parents lead a busy life with a lot of responsibility.) For one week, I cleaned up dog poop, attended a track meet, helped with homework, cooked meals (which really consisted of microwaving precooked meals lol) and worked a my full-time job. Saturday, May 5, 2012, was supposed to be a fun day. I had to do an educational workshop in the morning, and then the fun began. I was traveling to Pittsburgh that night to see a gospel play with a few of my mentees. We all enjoyed the play, ate a fantastic dinner at T.G.I. Fridays and still managed to get home to Johnstown at a decent hour.
I woke up Sunday morning to do my ordinary Sunday tasks, and by mid-service, I was completely pooped. I have felt that way before. The usual remedy is to go directly to bed. Typically, in the morning I am back to my normal perky self. As I stood up to give the church’s weekly announcements, I felt completely overwhelmed with fatigue. My hands begin to shake. I said to myself I have to go lay down when I go home; my body had other plans. After the announcements the church proceeded to take communion. I remember opting to sit for the ceremony because I was tired, but I found soon myself slumped over on my Pastor’s shoulder trying to respond to the questions that she was asking me. She kept asking me “Mel, are you ok?” I wanted to give her a better answer, but all I could say was that I was really tired. My hands were trembling, and when I went to stand up, I couldn’t. I had tremors in my legs and hands. The men of the church escorted me to the lobby of the church where I was fed any and every kind of food that was in that church—subs, gobs, bananas, orange juice and I am sure that there was more food. But it didn’t help. I was taken to the hospital, and I spent 3 days in there. I can honestly say that I am a lot better. My tremor are significantly less. I was ordered by my medical doctor to take a pause in life and just rest. To a goer (that is a person that is on the go all the time. I made that up myself.) That was the worst news in the world.
It is a shame that I have to go through this experience for me to learn how to STOP! Being busy is not being productive. This experience forced me to evaluate my entire life and to seek for balance in all areas. I know that there are many more people out there who have the same story as me. We do 50 million things. Although they could be good things, often times, we don't allow ourselves to find balance. Please listen your body when it tells you to go sit down. Please take the time to enjoy the things that bring you happiness. It is true, you are like a vapor--here today and gone tomorrow (James 4). Take the time to find balance so you can live a happy, healthy life.
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