"Too Busy"

Lately, I've heard myself saying "I'm very busy" a lot. Actually, when it all comes down to it--I'm not as busy as some people. I'm certainly not as busy as a single parent who has to take care of a couple of kids while trying to keep two jobs. I'm not as busy as the homeless person who has to walk, sometimes up to twenty miles a day, in order to find food and shelter. I'm not as busy as our legislators in Washington--although, maybe they need to be a little less busy, too!

The point is, I'm busy, but no one should ever be so busy that they can't give time to prayer and meditation. And when I get busy, those are the first things to go out the window. I read somewhere recently about a survey of pastors that revealed that some pastors spend an average of three minutes a day in private prayer and devotions, and some pastors reported that they usually don't pray unless it is in front of a group of people. How sad--but I know how they feel. There are days when I hope for a meeting just so I can have the chance to sit down and pray, and there are days when I get so restless because of all the "work" that has to be done that I can't focus on my meditation time. If it's this way for me, how must it be for that working single parent, or the homeless person, or the man or woman in a position of power and authority.

We are reminded in the Scriptures to "pray without ceasing," (I Thessalonians 5:17), but maybe we need to be reminded that prayer doesn't always have to be about the right words or the right posture of the body or the right anything--except the right state of mind, a receptivity to the presence of God in all times and places.

The other day, I was out walking Mack (our dog), and experienced the kind of praye that goes beyond mere words or postures. It was very early in the morning, and the sun was just coming up. There was a light fog hovering amongst the trees, and the early rays of the sun were just beginning to peek through the branches and leaves. As I looked at this sight, I gasped for a moment at the beauty of it all, and then immediately thought, "I wish I had my camera." But a camera couldn't have caught the moment for me, even if it could have caught the sight. It was, for me, a moment of prayer at the beginning of what would end up being a very "busy" day.

May all your "busy" days begin in such a way, and may God's beauty continually catch you off guard.

On the lookout for prayer moments,

David