Peaceful & Purposeful LIFE (Live Intentionally For Eternity)
Life moves pretty quickly. All the time. And if we don’t actively participate on an intentional level, it will quite literally pass us by.
In our younger years, time only seemed slower when we were bored or had to wait patiently for something we wanted badly. At least that was the case for me, without the technology of this time to constantly distract from the thoughts of waiting patiently. Except for these moments, time progressed at a constant pace.
Then time appeared to speed up. For the most part, high school seemed to fly by. College, even though I changed majors and universities and added over a full year to my undergraduate studies, appeared to end as quickly as it had begun. When Ryan and I got married, kids immediately followed. Between the two of us working full-time and raising three children close in age, who were involved in every activity possible, days filled and passed rather quickly.
Busy lives have a way of staying busy. There’s always something that comes up and fills our days. Even when I became a stay-at-home mom, my calendar was filled with volunteering at the church, the school, and the kids’ teams and activities. When I wasn’t volunteering, I was driving. A lot. Taking the kids to and from school, appointments, practices, and lessons. From dawn until dusk, a mom of young kids is on the move. Making breakfasts, packing lunches, making dinners (for grab and go or way early or way late because we all weren’t home at the same time.) Cooking, cleaning, running errands, washing uniforms and practice clothes when the kids were at school. After school, driving the three of them all around Timbuktu until coming home for bath/shower times and tucking them all into bed.
I’ve heard other parents say that this is when they would consistently spend quality time with their spouse, when the kids were all put to bed. Got to admit, I was a tad envious of these couples. I mean, were they on a constant infusion of caffeine? In theory, this sounds like the perfect time to decompress and connect with Ryan. And some evenings we were able to spend time talking and laughing as we picked up the house to reset for the next day. But more often than not, by the time the kids were in bed, we were in bed. Ryan and I were probably out cold before the kids were. The goal was to sleep as much as possible to reenergize for tomorrow. Well, that was as long as no one had a bad dream or couldn’t sleep or got scared or got sick in the middle of the night. Getting sick was the worst. Besides your heart breaking, helplessly watching your sweet child in misery, there was the cleaning up of the child, the mess, the sheets and then crashing on the tiny bed or floor next to them with the spew bucket at hand.
As filled as those days were, they were also filled with blessed memories. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. Well…the cleaning up the vomit thing throughout the night I could do without. But the time I spent with my kids, being there for them, caring for them and getting to be their mom, wouldn’t trade it for anything in the whole world. But boy were those some crazy busy times that flew by in the blink of an eye.
Our days can soon become weeks, then months, then years. And even now, as I write these words, I am thinking ‘How is it already April 12th, 2024?”
Nowadays the kids are all driving themselves to all the things I used to drive them. Yet my schedule still gets filled with meetings, appointments, errands, volunteering, cooking, cleaning…. The point is at every stage of our lives we have the opportunity to fill our days and calendars. But no matter what the calendar says is scheduled for the day, we have the choice every morning to live each day intentionally or run from one thing to the next.
Do we pay attention and do things with purpose, taking in the moments and memories? Or do we frantically check off each item on the daily to-do list? And which option is more desirable? Which gives us more meaning, purpose, fulfillment?
Each day matters. Every single thing we do matters. So why not take it all in and make the most of it?
Intentionality vs Fog:
The Fog is where we just go and do. Like little ants, scurrying around. And at the end of the day, we are tired and see the next day as a long continuation of the day before that and one before that.
Intentionality opens our eyes and makes moments opportunities, chances to make days meaningful and memories worth cherishing a lifetime.
When I think of the difference between Intentionality and Fog, the movie Wall-E comes to mind. I think of all the people floating in chairs, heads down, zoned-out and staring at screens. As extreme as I believe the Wall-E creators probably believed this to be, it is actually an interesting depiction of how we are presently as a society. If we aren’t intentional and purposeful, we automatically default to an auto-pilot mode. Very much like the population in Wall-E, unaware of anything around us that is not on the screen in our faces.
Or like the Barbie movie. Barbie is stuck in an auto-pilot mode, re-living each day until her eyes are opened and she experiences something real. It is a reminder that real is raw and authentic, which can be difficult and ugly at times. And when life is difficult and ugly, it can seem easier to withdraw, whether in constant distraction or substances that numb us from the reality. But what Barbie discovered is, while being real and raw can be ugly, there is a purpose and meaning with the authenticity associated with awareness that fulfills a longing we didn’t know we had.
What does living intentionally mean? I can say what it doesn’t mean firstly. It doesn’t mean having more to-do lists or more schedules. You may assume that to be more intentional and make our time more meaningful, we need to plan better. And while removing the unnecessary and time wasters from our schedule are extremely beneficial, living intentionally is more about bringing a purpose to what we are already doing.
From Healthy Spiritual Habits, we discussed the value of spending quality time with God through prayer. The great thing about prayer is that we can literally talk to God anytime, anywhere. Throughout the day we can ask Him to be with us and help us make the most of all the moments. While I’m doing the cooking or cleaning, I can talk with Him. Sometimes it is as simple as thanking him that I have my family and the ability to be at home to cook or clean. Sometimes it is asking Him to change my attitude to one that is more grateful as I clean up a disgusting mess (like this morning when one of the dogs had gotten sick on the floor) or as I trip over something I had asked my child to pick up quite a few times. Or maybe I just wake up tired and not thrilled about emptying the dishwasher. Asking God to give me energy and joy in ordinary tasks not only significantly improves my immediate perspective, but it also begins the process of reprograming how I view the task in the future.
Whenever I ask Him to be with me in the mundane tasks and errands, I find they become more purposeful and meaningful. I’m not just plugging away, barreling through the day. Being awake, eyes opened, I am aware of things I would not see otherwise. Now I am finding the gratitude opportunities. I’m seeing His hand in what I do and with whom I interact. More and more I see Him and His character revealed. I see His love for me and His creation. And, truly, everything I say and do is an act of obedience and worship, so I should give it to Him and honor Him through it all.
With this perspective, what would have been an ordinary day becomes extraordinary. My life becomes more than an ant scurrying around, a floating chair blob stuck to a screen, or a plastic doll thoughtlessly going about her day. My life becomes more peaceful and purposeful as I live intentionally for eternity!
‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him….whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.’ -Colossians 3:17,23
Peaceful & Purposeful LIFE (Live Intentionally For Eternity)
‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ -2 Corinthians 4:19
‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ -John 17:3