Faith Friday | Hushing the Rhythm of Rush

Last year a good friend gave me a devotional called Embraced by Lysa TerKeurst. I picked it up a few times in 2018, but I've really been diving into it this year with purpose. My favorite thing is to bring it along with me to the chapel at church and ponder in the quiet with Jesus. This past week I dove into a section that touched on the rhythm of rush and how we lose sight of the best version of ourselves when we get sucked into the busy busy rush of life. Yep.

We have to slow the rhythm of rush in our lives so the best of who we are can emerge. 

- Lysa TerKeurst

So where does all the rush come from? Mine comes from running my own freelance business, weekly client meetings, kids to run to school, sports and other activities, a husband who coaches in addition to his day job, groups at church, keeping our house running smoothly, keeping up with friends and family and somewhere in all of that finding time for self-care and a prayer life. What is at the center of your busy?

It can all be so overwhelming. Peeps, how do we go about hushing the rhythm of rush, when it's become such a norm?

Some Sunday nights I look at the calendar for the week ahead and think how the heck am I going to do all of that and remain sane? Juggling it all, takes careful planning, delegating (even sometimes capable people in my own household - yes I'm a recovering control freak, do it all girl) and saying no without regret or second-guessing (because it's for my own good and the good of my family in the end).

With such a busy schedule, I used to easily get sucked into the rhythm of rush, and it often overwhelmed me. I'd get so stressed and worn out that I'd get sick, have migraines and be forced to take a few days off. That all changed about a year ago. I can't say it was one thing, but really a perfect storm of quite a few ah-ha moments. 

I paired down my commitments, I let go of some things, I made myself a priority, I sought out ways to grow in my faith and I made a lists - oh how I love lists. Plus my older sister said a few things that made me ponder even more: 

• Every yes you say to one thing is a no to something else, make sure you truly understand the repercussions of the yeses and nos. (Which after diving into Embraced and the best yeses, Lysa and my sister would get along just fine.) I soon realized sometimes my yeses to everyone else in my life were horrible nos to family, myself and to my faith walk. 
• Constantly weed your garden. Are the people (or commitments) around you feeding your positive growth or stifling you like weeds? 
• Do things that make your heart sing. God gave you those passions for a reason.

I realized in all of that rush, my life lacked balance and had way too much noise, I'd been avoiding the hard things and I hadn't been working on me or my relationship with God at all. I'd been just getting through the days. 

I also realized I liked the woman that was emerging, as I learned to hush the rush, and worked on the meaningful yeses, sound nos, weeding my garden, spending time in prayer and making lists. I definitely wanted to see more of that chick. Where had she been all my life?! 

So long story short, how do I go about hushing the rush, the busy, the noise? I'm careful with my yeses, I pencil in appointments for daily prayer time, and I've stopped treating God like my on-call concierge when I need something (or something has gone terribly wrong and I need someone to blame), but more like an old dear friend.

Sometimes I meet Him with my favorite coffee mug in hand first thing in the morning. Sometimes I steal away from an hour in the chapel while I wait for one of the kids to get out of a sports practice. Sometimes we chat while I'm in the car heading to appointments. 

When my heart and spirit focus on Him and I shut the rest of the world's noise out, it's like a weary child (even an adult one) coming home for a loving parent's hug. It's like winter's quiet snow swirling down on you, hushing the world. It's like a cold drink of water. It's like turning north... (another favorite devotional in Embraced) and with that it makes juggling the busy, keeping your focus, learning to say no sometimes and being at your personal best (most of the time - because well, we're all human) so much easier.

You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. - Deuteronomy 2:2-3

When I step outside of the rush (and outside of exhaustion, stress, sadness and worry for that matter), I happen upon amazing conversations with my children, really see the love in my husband's deep brown eyes, read great books that feed my soul, really make time to nurture relationships with family and friends, take life's ups and downs in stride and so many more truly delightstruck things... I think it's simply called being in the moment and letting the rest go. 

Yes, I've found a way to hush the rush, peeps, and it starts in needing and spending time with Him. 

Stay tuned for more Faith Fridays. In the next few weeks, I talk - Hard Things, High Hopes and a Cycle of Defeat.

-Jen