Vol 13
No 13
August 12, 2014
Dear Friend,
“Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she
came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do
all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me. ’” Luke 10:40*
For Martha it’s all about the to-do list. She
reminds me of the White Rabbit with his giant watch running away from Alice in
Wonderland crying, “I’m late I’m late for a very important date. No time to say
hello goodbye I’m late I’m late I’m late.” Ever feel like that? I bet you do
all the time!
I like to call our over busyness, “The Law
of Present Demand.” It sure was the White Rabbit’s problem! Present demand
includes all of the things coming at you, demanding you right now. It's what
Jim Dobson calls the “sustained panic, ” what John Ortberg calls “hurry
sickness ”and what Brigid Schulte calls
“time confetti” in the book Overwhelmed on being too busy to live.
The Law of Present Demand regulates our lives in
three ways. The pressure of present demand moves any non-pressing item
to the bottom of the list. The routine of present demand convinces us
that everything we are doing is necessary. The comfort of present demand
lulls us into thinking that while we complain about our busyness, we actually
like it.
Some years ago the pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church of Boulder, Colorado, Bob Oerter, led a retreat with a
bunch of us all being crushed by the Law of Present Demand. He offered this
amazing word, “Learn to live with the load of the unfinished!”
That has stuck with me ever since.
In a society where we have to “get all of this
stuff done,” our sense of “present demand” overwhelms our priorities and easily
diverts us from loving our Lord, loving ourselves, loving our neighbors. Learn
to live with the load of the unfinished so that like Mary you take time for
Jesus, you take time for your neighbors, you take time for yourself and those
you love.
Joy to you -
Stan
Copyright 2014 E.
Stanley Ott
*Scripture from the NRSV
