"Ain't Nobody Got Time"

knowyourmeme.com

    "There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace."

 

"What is Time?" | Talk Nerdy to Me (Huffpost Science)

From 2010 to 2012, my day job was working in nursing care in a couple of different roles.  The majority of that time was spent in a dementia and Alzheimer's care center as an recreational activities assistant.  We played Bingo, did crafts, sang songs, gardened, and painted pictures.  It was like summer camp!  However one of the favorite activities of the residents I spent time with was the simple act of going out on our facility's patio and sitting in the specially built swing that would accommodate two people and one wheelchair.  On nice days, we would spend a couple of hours just swinging, sometimes sharing stories (sometimes the same stories, every 10 minutes).  For my residents who participated in this seemingly meaningless activity, it was a cherished time.  Due to the effects of Alzheimer's and dementia, our facility was usually locked, not to imprison our residents, but to protect them from wandering away, an activity which landed many of them to the facility in the first place.  So, the opportunity to go outside and just be was a wonderful experience for many of them.

As a child of the technological age, I was born with "generational A.D.D."  Most of my generation has this terrible disease....it's just that some of us are not diagnosed.  We want to constantly be doing something.  "Doing nothing" is not something we usually do.  We fill the empty spaces in our life with screens and noise.  Some of use have tried to cut back, but we still do it nonetheless.

Those hours out on the swing taught me something about time that I don't think I would have learned otherwise.  I learned that time is precious.  Most of the people I cared for in that facility had numbered days, and they knew it.  Alzheimer's and dementia are respecters of no person.  For most in that facility, just being present in that particular moment was enough, because in reality once that moment passes they may never be able to get it back.  In most cases, present memories were like a lit match, only lasting a few precious seconds.

I have a terrible memory.  It is near impossible for me to recollect memories at will.  I often struggle to recall details of certain aspects of my childhood.  This is probably credit to the massive amount of information my brain is taking in everyday from the TV, to the internet, to sports radio.  One of my favorite music artists, Robbie Seay, in his song "Rise" gave me a lyric that I have hung my heart on for a number of years.

Slow down, be still
Let go, we will
Be here, be now
Slow down, be still
Breathe in, refill
Be here, be now

 Be here. Be now.  

Be present in the moments that are given to you.  That means that my introverted spirit has to swallow its pride every now and again and look people in the eyes.  It means disconnecting and unplugging from the virtual world and giving my full attention to the flesh and blood that is two feet away from me.

In my absolute favorite book on my shelf, The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, author Adele Calhoun introduced me to a practice called "slowing."  She describes the practice as a way "to overcome inner hurriedness and addiction to busyness. Through slowing, the sacrament of the present moment is tasted to the full." (Calhoun, 78)

The practices she suggests as a part of this discipline are things like driving in the slow lane (both physically and metaphorically), getting rest, looking people in the eyes, sitting longer at the table, and speaking more slowly.

I love her assessment that we are "addicted to busyness."  The truth in that cuts me to the core.

And that principle has changed me. (well...more truthfully "is changing"...God's not finished with me yet) 

"I know you're a busy person...."

"I don't want to interrupt you, because I know your time is valuable...."

As a minister, I hear people tell me that about twice a week.  It breaks my heart to think that people are under the assumption that I am so busy that I can't stop to talk with them for even just a few minutes.  Yes, I have tasks that I need to get done on a weekly basis.  Sometimes I add a ton more things to that list, and yes I have often felt overrun by the things that "I have to do."  But here's the reality....all of those things can wait in order to spend time with people. 

I went to a pastors' conference about a year ago where one of the popular senior pastors in our area gave a talk about time and how to spend it.  I was shocked at some of the practices he was advocating.  This dude was straight up crazy busy...He was multitasking to the max.  He basically spoke of the appearance of staying busy so that his parishioners would see that he is doing the work God called him to do.  He talked about staying up to all hours of the night writing sermons, playing at the park with his kids while thinking of that week's lesson illustrations, and taking a 15 minute power nap everyday in his office so he can maintain this pace.

Now...some of you may could maintain that...there is no way I could.  And I won't.  I refuse.

In their book, The Art of Neighboring, Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak talk about time and the barrier it creates between us and living our lives as good neighbors.  To set up their argument they say "Instead of having more free time, we've added more things into our already crammed lives [...] as a result we live at warp speed.  We've become champion multitaskers [...] It's a dangerous way to live." (44).  In response to this concept, they suggest that to take the Great Commandment ("love God, love others") seriously we are going to have to be inconvenienced from time to time.  And that's ok.  This is easier said than done, I know! But with practice, we can do it. 

This means going across the street to interact with your neighbor who's outside working, even though you were on your way to the store.  Maybe it's stopping the honey-do you were trying to finish up to help a neighbor move a heavy piece of furniture.  One of the hardest tasks they challenge the reader with is to be "interruptible."  By doing so, we are creating space for others in our lives.  And that is exactly what Jesus has called us to do.

Time - Hootie & the Blowfish

(just for fun)

My wife, Sarah, and I have tried to stop responding with the old cliche "We've been so busy." when others ask us how life is going.  Sometimes it's true.  Our weeknights are usually packed with dinner dates and church events, because we tend to do our ministry with others in the evenings.  Despite the lack of calendar space, we have tried to make it a point that the people in our lives are more important than any of the tasks we have to do.  And as a person who is an introvert, that is a hard task for me to do.  However, God is teaching me the importance of relationship.  And with that, he has given me a free lesson on time.  

So here's what I have to do.  It's time to slow down and stop looking like I'm busy.  It's time for me to look people in the eye and let them know that they have my full attention and presence when they speak to me.  It's time for me to make sure those people in my life know they are important and loved deeply by God.

It's going to take some....well.....time.  And it won't happen overnight.

In order to do it, I'm going to have intentionally slow down, breathe in, be here, be now.

Sit on the swing and just be.

Because my time is valuable, and I want to spend it in the best ways by being present in the moments I am given with the people God has gifted me.

Be patient with me...and know...I'm not too busy for you.