These days, it feels as though being “busy” has become our favorite small talk. Ask anyone how they’re doing and nine times out of 10, the reply will be, “Oh, you know, busy!” as if it’s both a badge of honor and a mild affliction.
And truth be told, most of us really are dashing from one thing to the next — school runs, work deadlines, grocery trips that always end up costing twice what we expected. Sometimes it feels as though life has us permanently on fast-forward.
And yet, there’s an odd sort of grace in all this bustle. Being busy spares us from our own worst tendencies. When we’re knee-deep in laundry or wrangling dinner together, we don’t have the luxury of obsessing over the tiny irritations of life. Who left the teaspoon in the sink? Who took the last cookie? No time for such ponderings — we’ve got places to be!
Benefits of being a busy bee!
In fact, idleness can be surprisingly dangerous. Give us a free afternoon with nothing to do, and before long we’re stewing over some minor slight from three years ago or analysing our life choices with the intensity of a Victorian poet. It’s in those slower moments, of course, that we can and should focus on prayer, reflection, and building our spiritual lives. As Psalm 46:11 reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
But beware: too much stillness without direction can turn us into Olympic-level navel gazers.
Busyness, on the other hand, pulls us out of ourselves. Work — whether paid, unpaid, or the sheer daily grind of keeping a household ticking — forces us to look outward. It reminds us that we are here not just for our own comfort, but to serve others, and in doing so, to serve God. Even the smallest tasks — a kind word to a colleague, feeding a toddler who has suddenly decided pasta is the enemy, or answering a phone call we’d rather dodge — can become acts of love.
That said, God isn’t asking us to be martyrs to the calendar. Even Jesus took time to rest, retreat, and pray. The trick, perhaps, is balance: learning to embrace the busy seasons without grumbling too much, and to savor the quiet moments without letting them spiral into self-pity or endless scrolling.
So the next time we’re tempted to sigh, “I’m just so busy,” maybe we can reframe it. Yes, our days are packed. Yes, we long for a nap. But busyness can be a gift too: it keeps us grounded, useful, and (dare I say) too distracted to worry about things that really don’t matter.
And when the day finally ends, when we flop into bed with the to-do list only half done, we can thank God not only for the chance to rest, but also for the fullness of a life that — though hectic — draws us closer to Him in all its glorious chaos.
