Are we too busy for God?
By Laura Higgins

It was a Monday when I ran into my 2:30 class, terrified that I was late. I was, in fact, seven minutes early. The intense rush continued all the way until Dr. Raymond Smith opened class in prayer. As soon as he was done, I began working on my schedule for the week and became more and more overwhelmed.

I was half listening to the lecture and half trying to shave time off my schedule. Then Smith got my attention: "Americans worship time." Ouch. Well, there went the 37 minutes of studying before I went to dinner. Serious repentance was in order.

My family is Italian. They do not rush. They eat and socialize. I am not sure how Italians have managed to become such a huge influence on the world, since there seems to be little emphasis on taking over anything.

When I go home, I am still on my scheduled life routine and no one else is. They seem to believe that you cannot enjoy your life if you blow through it at breakneck speed. Over and over I have been lectured about the virtues of seizing the moment. Ha. I have time to maximize!

In the Psalms, there are parts where the word "Selah" is used. Literally translated, it means, "Pause and calmly think of that." Pausing is biblical.

God designed it for us to take the time out of our busy lives and ponder what His word means to us. When we spend time with God, it is meant to be a peaceful, restful time of intimacy. Not a moment where you sit down and read your Bible as fast as you can and then speed off to you next engagement.

One of the greatest lessons that God has taught me has been to simply take the time to rest in Him and learn from Him during those moments. It is during the times we spend with God that we ourselves are refreshed and renewed.

I know that it is sometimes very difficult to concentrate on what new revelations God may have for you when you are also thinking about you accounting test in nine hours 23 minutes and 13 seconds, but the effort is worth it.

Your relationship with God is vital to your own personal life. People can live without God, but living with Him is so much better.

For me to set down my planner and books for God is my best decision of the day. While I usually plan to spend, "just a little time," it usually stretches into longer. At the end, maybe I don't have all of my organic chemistry homework done, but I am definitely more peaceful.

And God does honor our time spent with Him. He always doubles it back to me. Whenever I spend my moments praising and honoring Him, I am so blessed. God is a faithful God. He wants us to have the best lives that we can. The best life that we can have is one spent with Him.

Smith's lecture helped me a lot. I went out last night, without my watch on. I concentrated on life, instead. I didn't worry about my workload. I spent my time enjoying the life that God created for me and all of its blessings.

If you take the time to pause and praise Him for His greatness, you see so much more of it, in your life as well as in the lives of those around you.

God did not create you and me to be slaves to our schedules. He created us to be peaceful and happy. I promise you that giving that time to God will be the best decision that you have ever made. "Be still and know that I am God."

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