Productivity versus Serenity

Mom was a busy-body, never able to sit long, until in her 80's. When she visited us when the children were little, she would shadow me from room to room, filling me in on the latest news while helping me fold clothes, serve up a meal, etc. Although I appreciated her much-needed help, it was exhausting--the conversations mixed in with the work load. Dad was busy in a different way. He saw a job that needed to be done and started--didn't need to be with anyone else, but if someone was watching (like a grandchild), he'd pull them in and give them a task. Soon, they'd be working as a team.

They were both purposeful. Mom's having the appearance of busy productivity; Dad have the feeling of a more serene type of purposefulness. Like most of us, I took after both of my parents.

During those years of raising children, working, and keeping a household intact (whatever that meant during that particular period of time), I yearned for serenity. It seemed that if I could just have time to gather it, life could be more tranquil. I would be more at peace, settled. While I may have given the outward appearance of serenity, pandemonium sometimes reigned--my insides in turmoil. I wondered how some others could be laid-back, self-assured, or even unconcerned about things that mattered. However, I understood that my state of mind would take its toll.

I have always tried to find time to spend in God's Word.
It was never-wasted time but often it was rushed time.
Now, that I have a little more time on my hands, I don't have to have Bible study and devotions just in the morning after my breakfast. I can do it in the afternoon; I can open up the Good Book in the evening.

Time spent with Jesus is never purposeless.
It is always productive.
It's the best kind of team-work imaginable.
It will provide a serenity that is out-of-this-world.

Amen.