No Time to Spare

Busy, that evil four letter word. Busy and I are on a first name basis and if I’m honest it is a love/hate relationship. I love to do so many things, but I hate when that love gets in the way of the people I love even more. I believe busyness is an epidemic. Everywhere you look you see burned out people. You walk into the grocery store and there are entire coolers dedicated to drinks for the busy person, ones to keep you awake, put you to sleep, diminish stress, give you energy, retain your memory and who knows what else There are many things cause stress but I bet you a million dollars if you got to the base of much stress you would find busyness. Now all the people who know me, if they continued to read this far, just checked the top of the page wondering is this Lisa? Did someone hack her account? Right, so I guess I could call myself a bit of an expert on these things. 

Yesterday however, I saw busyness from yet a new and even more disturbing way. It was a harmless comment, a compliment actually but it has haunted me ever since.

I was helping at a funeral for a God fearing, wonderful man in my church. He was an older man ready to move to his eternal home in Heaven. I was setting food out on the table when the funeral director and his assistant came into the Fellowship Hall and he got this very surprised look on his face and ran over to the table and knocked on the plates. He exclaimed, “Wow, real plates, real plates!” and his friend countered “yea and real table cloths.” He turned to me and saw the bewildered look on my face and obviously felt the need to explain.

“Churches just don’t do this anymore. I never see real plates, than people have to wash them!” His friend added “The same goes for table cloths, these are beautiful.”

Could we have really gotten this busy???? We can’t offer two hours of time to ensure the family who has lost a loved one has a beautiful place to grieve and share memories?

I know you are thinking “Lisa, it is just plates” but do you see it is really a sign of the something a lot bigger. It is not about the plates, in fact for my funeral, paper plates would be perfect, it would be symbolic of my life, I LOVE paper plates, I hate washing dishes. Beside then there would be more time for a party! However to me in this instance there are two issues.

1.       We are too busy when we skimp on the things that matter and then pretend like they don’t. “It’s just plates” It’s just plastic cloths, who will notice?” We get busy and we make substitutions that cost us our relationships, our integrity, our humanity. Okay so I have taken paper plates to losing all humanity. Maybe a tiny bit dramatic.

2.       We have lost our respect for the seniors in our life. I walked back to the kitchen mulling over what the funeral director just told me. I silently wondered why real plates were so rare. As I entered the kitchen I found my answer. There stood my answer, the lady who had planned the entire funeral, decorated and readied the food was a lovely senior herself, with curved fingers as arthritis had taken its toll. The reason we still have plates is that we still have seniors planning the funerals in our church. What will happen as they slowly pass away? For their funerals I am afraid we too will begin using paper plates.  I have much to say on this but I will save it for another post. (I know you can’t waitJ)

Trust me, I fully recognize that as I point my finger at society, at you, I realize that all other fingers are pointing right back at me. I am the worst culprit of all. This was the first funeral I have worked at in my church. I think I was too busy for all the others.

I hate resolutions, they are just a reminder to me of my great capability to start something but not finish.  But this year, I am going to make a resolution. If you are older like me you might remember when Nancy Regan started her drug free campaign; “Just Say No” was the tagline. Well, this is going to be my resolution; I am going to “Just Say No.” I am going to say no; no to things that rob me of my relationships and no to things that steal respect away from those who deserve it. I am going to refuse to allow society and culture to tell me that I need to do more and move faster, and miss life along the way. 

I pray that God helps me in this process. I pray that He give me eyes to see others, that He gives me a mind to discern important from unimportant, feet to do only what He calls me to and hands to wash lots and lots of dishes.