This past month I have felt so frazzled.
Like this piece of twisted steel cable, my brain has felt like it’s unravelling, fraying at the ends and coming loose from the important details of life.
I completely forgot about some important school things, and several things that I normally do at Christmas didn’t even occur to me this year. When I suddenly realized what I had forgotten, frustration caused yet another strand to pop free from the intricate workings of my mind.
I’m a little afraid the whole thing is going to snap, and the pieces that were being held together by the cable will fly around in my brain like shrapnel.
Have you ever felt like that?
Some would tell me I’m doing too much.
But I think the problem has less to do with doing too much, and more to do with being too little.
I finally spent some time reading a devotional book the other day while I was feeling the tension of all the frayed bits crying out for attention, and read this:
And this is the tragedy: We keep ourselves busy with the things of the Lord and not with the Lord of the things.
Andrew Murray and Bruce Wilkerson in “Daily in His Presence”
And all my little frayed bits stopped crying, and my heart went still.
This. This is what I needed.
To be rooted.
To stop flitting from here to there, to stop multitasking and trying to get it all done at the same time, and to make God the centre, not the to-do list.
I have always loved the images painted in this verse, and out of it I feel like I’ve been led to a word for this year:
I will let my heart root in the love of God, taking time to feel the showers of his grace.
I will let my mind root in the guidance of God, taking time every day to allow him to speak into my life.
I will let my soul root in the faithfulness of God, taking time for silence instead of filling it up with noise.
My prayer for me and for you this year is this:
Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
may you continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness. (from Colossians 2:6, 7)
I recently did a devotional that had that verse in Jeremiah. Such a good reminder to remain rooted. Thanks for this post! I needed to remember that.
Thanks for taking the time to respond!
Oh this is def my cup of tea. I am all about some slow living. Overwhelmed a couple years ago, I had to pull back and add margin to my life so I could think and hear God better. Amen to all the above. Keep on writing!
LOVE this. Thanks for sharing!