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A time to slow down?
Dear PSR Parents— Earlier this week as I frantically ran to the next in a series of too-closely-scheduled meetings, I heard something on the radio that stopped me in my tracks: If the devil can’t make you bad, the devil will make you busy. Like the most profound truths, this one hit too close to home. Caught up in the egoism of busy-ness, I was exhausted from trying to fit way too much into the precious days before the start of the holiday season. Days were starting way too early and once-enjoyable activities were so compressed that they were becoming a blur. Time that I’d protected for prayer and thinking was too often wasted by nervous energy and a feeling I was forgetting something. My mind was not finding the peace in quiet. I was running so fast that I’d begun to lose sight of my destination. It took the jolt of a powerful quote to get my attention. As I forced myself to slow down, I wondered: how often does busy-ness choke the soul from our lives? How often does it crowd out the beauty and grounding that come only in quiet time with God? How often do we let our schedule spin our lives out of control and, in the process, sacrifice precious intangibles that give it meaning? In fact, how often do we let this busy-ness turn the wonder of Advent and Christmas into just another list of things to do? Probably more often than we’d like to admit. And so my wish for all of us as we begin Advent is that we allow ourselves to let go of superficial busy-ness for the things that matter most. If we can manage this, the rest will take care of itself. Wishes to you for a blessed and less busy Advent. —Martha Rapp, Pastoral Associate(m.rapp@cospq.org, 222-3155) |
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As we prepare for Christmas, please consider donating an item that can help women and children who are being served by QUANADA. (QUANADA helps area residents who are victims of domestic violence.) A list of needed items and collection details are included on the next page of this issue of this newsletter.
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