By
Judy Cook
So
many times when I read books, I run across quotes in them that just speak to me.
I often want to share them. But then, I'm busy and I don't. But today, I
will. Just a little.
This
is from The Life You've Always Wanted (Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary
People) by John Ortberg.
He
talks about "hurry sickness"--a disease I recognize as one of my own!!
"We
suffer from what has come to be known as 'hurry sickness'. One of the great
illusions of our day is that hurrying will buy us more time."
"Our
world has become the world of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: 'Now here,
you see, it takes all the running you
can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must
run at least twice as fast as that!'"
"Meyer
Friedman defines hurry sickness as 'above all, a continuous struggle and
unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate
in more and more events in less and less time, frequently in the face of
opposition, real or imagined, from other persons.' Hurry will keep us consumed
by the 'cares and riches and pleasures of life,' as Jesus put it, and prevent
his way from taking root in our hearts."
"If
we have hurry sickness, we are haunted by the fear that there are just not
enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done. We will read faster, talk
faster, and when listening, nod faster to encourage the talker to accelerate. We
will find ourselves chafing whenever we have to wait. At a stoplight, if there
are two lanes and each contains one car, we will find ourselves guessing--based
on the year, make, and model of each car--which one will pull away the
fastest."
"At
a grocery store, if we have a choice between two check-out lines, we find
ourselves counting how many people are in each line, multiplying this number by
the number of items per cart. If we have a really bad case of hurry sickness,
then even after we get in line we keep track of the person who would have been
me in the other line. If we get through and the person who would have been me is
still waiting, we are elated. We've won. But if the alter-me is walking out of
the store and we're still in line, we feel depressed. We have hurry
sickness."
Note
from Judy: "ouch! I have a bad case of it!"
"It
is because it kills love that hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life. Hurry
lies behind much of the anger and frustration of modern life. Hurry prevents us
from receiving love from the Father or giving it to His children. That's why
Jesus never hurried. If we are to follow Jesus, we must ruthlessly eliminate
hurry from our lives--because, by definition, we can't move faster than the one
we are following."
"'The
press of busyness is like a charm,' Kierkegaard wrote. 'Its power swells---it
reaches out seeking always to lay hold of ever-younger victims so that childhood
or youth are scarecly allowed the quiet and the retirement in which the Eternal
may unfold a divine growth.' The truth is, as much as we complain about it, we
are drawn to hurry. It makes us feel important. It keeps the adrenaline pumping.
It means we don't have to look too closely at the heart or life. It keeps us
from feeling our loneliness."
That's
probably more than y'all wanted already. But how I hurry! And rush! And miss out
on REAL life. You know, love, family, friends. And even more, where is the time
to "Sit still, and know that God is God"?
My
busyness does not mean I am important. It means that I am doing unnecessary
things and leaving the necessary undone. And yet, how to break that cycle?
...Meditate
within your heart on your bed, and be still. (Psalm 4:4)
Rest
in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;...Do not fret------it only causes harm.
(Psalm 37:8)
Be
still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10)
ISBS Ladies Daily Devotional
10/25/04
............Article 91............
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