Are You Too Busy?

It's December, and I'd bet that most of our to-do lists are overflowing. Preparing for Christmas can leave us tired, distracted, and missing out on the beauty of the Church's Advent season. A friend recently shared an apt acronym describing what can happen to us:
Busy 1
Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden light--but how do we get to the peace that truly living His words would bring? Only by practicing God's presence, inviting Him in to every moment of our day. But how do we do that when we are absorbed in the details of our worldly lives? Simply through our words.

Words are powerful. Genesis tells us that God spoke the world into being. "Let there be..." and there was. Jesus is the Word made flesh, and the Bible is the Word of God. A priest speaks the words of the consecration and makes the very presence of Jesus a reality.

Our most basic level of prayer is a collection of words. When our to-do lists cause stress and frustration rises, use words to actively combat those feelings. "Please Lord, come into this moment; show me your will and grant me your peace."

When such words are lifted to Him in complete sincerity, He will honor our request and come in to our days. He wants to transform the burden of our b-u-s-y-ness into the virtue of Industriousness. We need only ask.