Paying for it now...

I have had a really busy week. I already wrote about the crazy weekend. The week wasn't much better: I worked on a newsletter until 11:00 on Monday night. On Tuesday, we went for free Chipotle, went shoe shopping for me, I had snacks with Jeremy, and then played Cities & Knights with Ryan, David, and Shane. On Wednesday, I went swimming with Jeremy, had dinner with Geoff, and then Jenetta and I went with Courtney, David, and Ryan to see an outdoor showing of Almost Famous at Stone Brewery. Thursday night was our first home group, and I didn't want to to miss it. All of this was done on top of the full work week. But I was already feeling like I was getting sick by Thursday afternoon.

I left work early yesterday and rested all evening. I have a cold and I feel yucky.

I'm wondering if busy-ness is my addiction. I am finding it so hard to just sit and rest today. My mind races around a dozen things I could be doing around the house. I have to tell myself NO. I really enjoy being connected with so many awesome friends. Other than my relationship with God and with Jenetta, the friendships we have been blessed with over the past few years are the things that give me the most joy in my life. I think the greatest thing that could be said of me at the end of my life would be "he was a great friend."

But all this stuff comes at a price. Earlier in the week, Jenetta warned me that I should not do all these great and fun things at the expense of our relationship. That was sobering! I had a brief conversation with our pastor at church yesterday. I had forgotten my Bible there on Sunday and I went to go pick it up. We were trying to find it for Thursday night homegroup and realized we had left it there. He joked "it took you until Thursday to notice you were missing it?" He was only kidding, but there is a good point there. I've been having some great times of prayer and fellowship with my friends, but I spend almost no time just sitting and thinking and reading and praying by myself.

I think my cold is not only slowing me down physically (no running with Robbie this morning or hiking with Geoff and his boys this afternoon) and socially (no games with the guys tonight) but most importantly, it is slowing me down mentally. It is good to have the time to think through my priorities. Even now, as I review what I've written for this post, I can see that I've been doing way too much. I need to be still more often. I need to rest and be thankful for what I have been given. I need to say "no, thanks..." a little more frequently.

So as crummy as I feel right now, I am thankful for my cold.