“If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “ So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint.” –Tim Kreider, New York Times
Two Sundays ago, we prayed over our students and teachers and other educators as they began the new school year. We blessed them as they went to learn and explore, grow and mature, build friendships and hone social skills, gain competencies and wrestle with big questions. And we continue to pray that the Lord will care for and guide each person through their unique growth opportunities in this school year. But amid all this excitement and exhilaration, I’d remind us that the goal of education is not to be always stressed, constantly tired, and stretched too thin. Knowing that being “crazy busy” is not the ultimate goal, here are four exhortations for the upcoming school year.
1) Remember to breathe. Pause occasionally. Take productivity breaks. Have dinner with your family or a loved one. Take a day off. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your life. In Dallas Willard’s words, “each week, be sure to do some nothing.”
2) Remember to appreciate. Hurry is the enemy of gratitude. When you’re rushing through life, it’s easy to hydroplane past the simple gifts all around you. A grumbling spirit also works against gratitude. Being appreciative and saying “thank you” to grocery store clerks, restaurant wait staff, co-workers, and family members cultivates connections and increases gratitude. You don’t have to be a Pollyanna, but the practice of regularly noticing “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable” can significantly improve your sense of how life is going today.
3) Remember to wonder. You don’t have to go to the Grand Canyon to do this, though I wouldn’t argue against it. Simple beauty grows all around you and wonder begins with noticing. Take a moment to go outside each day and engage nature with your senses, experiencing sunrises and sunsets, stars and moon phases, birdsong and frog choirs, fragrances and aromas, gentle breezes and cooling twilight. I saw a sign recently that said, “If you want to believe the world is terrible, watch the news. If you want to believe that the world is incredible, spend time in nature.”
4) Remember to love. In the pell mell rush of life, we can accidentally mistake family members for impediments and co-workers for obstacles. But our calling is to love one another as God loved us. Jesus taught (John 13:34-35) that the world will know we are his disciples if we have love for one another. Remember Augustine’s warning: ”If it seems to you that you have understood the divine scriptures… in such a way that by this understanding you do not build up this twin love of God and neighbor, then you have not understood them.”
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