Dear Sister,
2017 was a weird year. I didn’t feel like myself; I was apathetic in my faith at best—and unbelieving at worst. Even the presence of a new romance wasn’t enough to bolster me out of my – Depression? Crisis of faith? I can’t quite put my finger on it.
I have thought about many things I would like to do, but haven’t acted on any of them. Continual promises to “look that up” or “find out more” so I can get “more involved” have been habitually broken, leaving me saddened and regretful that I have not accomplished more of my personal goals.
Considering our technology-saturated lives, there is no doubt that my generation is the most distracted of its time. We are always plugged in to our phones—guilty! Airports boast charging stations and even provide outlets and wi-fi on the plane. Netflix has given us unlimited access to numerous shows, allowing us to waste away mind-numbing hours in front of any one of our preferred screens. Should we then be surprised when it feels nearly impossible to accomplish anything productive? Or to be satisfied when we are constantly bombarded with new information?
Maybe my prolonged “funk” is due to the fact that I have given too much of myself to these manmade distractions. I tell myself “when I’m married, I’ll make better use of my time” or “when I have kids, I’ll be forced into a routine.” But will these milestones really change me? Or will it just be that much harder to break my bad habits?
Toward the end of last year, I heard Jen Wilkin speak at a women’s conference. One point she made regarding use of our time was particularly convicting. She said that we can either fall into the camp that practically believes that “God has not given me enough time so I must be constantly doing things” or the camp that practically believes “God has given me all the time in the world and therefore nothing is urgent.” Of course, none of us thinks like this but how we choose to spend our time paints a concrete picture of our more abstract belief. I tend to fall into the “all the time in the world” camp, slowly moving from one task to another, without any real concern about those tasks that remain unfinished.
Which camp do you fall into, sis? Are you frantically trying to get things done and failing to rest in God’s sovereign provision? Or, are you more like me, lacking a sense of urgency and easily distracted from accomplishing the day’s important tasks?
This new year, let’s encourage each other to spend our time well in the new year, whatever that may look like in each of our lives. I need to kick myself into action most days, but maybe you need to rest more. Let us rejoice in each day that God has given us and cheerfully accomplish those things He has called us to do.
Walking with you,
Kayla
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” -Psalm 118:24