To Do or Not To Do

(The title is more funny when you say it in a Brenden Fraser from George of the Jungle voice)

There are different seasons in life where we find ourselves more busy than usual. I enjoy having a full schedule. However, this past year I have been learning a lot about rest and surrender. The last few weeks were particularly full and I recognized I needed a break. You know it is bad when you do not feel stressed but you recognize your body is.

To counteract this, I planned a nothing day. No chores. No errands. No researching. Only cooking, knitting, writing and fun reading (though let’s be honest, I define fun reading as searching history books for my next research topic). To achieve this day of nothing I scheduled out the hours of the day, making sure to include some unscheduled time before my discipleship group that night.

I decided nothing had a broader meaning so I could do the dishes and a few other chores and errands. I was loading the dishwasher and went to put soap in it. I imagine God and the angels watching this rather humorous event unfold. One angel jabs his buddy, “Look at this, I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.” Soon a crowd gathers. “Oh, is she gonna do it? She’s gonna do it!” I looked down in my hand and instead of dish soap I held a jug of milk. It was at this point that I realized I had already defeated the purpose of my nothing day. When you decide milk is a good substitute for soap, you know you are too distracted by your to-do list.

But again, if I’m really honest there is always something more I can work on, a new project to finish or goal to achieve. But if I’m in a constant state of go and do not make time to relax, spend quality time with God and friends, then am I obeying God when He says to “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10)? This is a command, not a suggestion. I need to be still and obey.

So how does one do this? I have many thoughts on this, but there is more to come on this and 1 Peter.