My alarm blares at 6:40 a.m.
I hop out of bed, throw on clothes, and quickly decide if it's an eyeliner or no-eyeliner sort-of day.
My music blares through my headphones, and I quickly scroll through the notes section of my phone. I mentally check off every task that I must complete that day.
I walk to class.
Sit in class.
Go to work.
Study.
Work on papers.
Go to a club meeting.
Go to another club meeting.
Study some more.
Sleep (barely).
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
And that's my life. When my alarm blares at 6:40 a.m. the next morning, my mind instantly starts racing again as soon as I open my eyes, because there are just so many things that I have to do.
It is just so easy to define ourselves by our actions. I'm Macy because I study all hours of the day. I'm me because I attend various meetings for my numerous organizations. Who would I be if I didn't work, whether it's for my actual job, my courses, my leadership organizations, my commitments to my friends, and for any of the miscellaneous events on my daily checklist?
We tend to pride ourselves by staying busy. If I came back to my apartment after a long day and told my roommates, "Eh, my day wasn't that busy," I'd probably get looks of astonishment. I mean, we're supposed to be busy in college, right?
Well, this might be a shocker, but we're not meant to be busy.
In the Bible, the people of Egypt worked seven days a week. Their worth was derived from how much they produced in that work. By Moses rescuing the Jews, God tells us that we cannot define our value by what we produce, what we make, what we accomplish, and what we do.
Humans are simply meant to BE. I do not have to DO anything to make God love me more or love me less. Checking off the things from my checklist and working every second of the day to accomplish minuscule things in the crazy, hectic, and busy nature of college is not impressive to Jesus. Before entering college, before I could walk or talk, and before I could do anything, I first received a relationship with the Lord. That friendship is intrinsic to being human, and that is the thing that places value on my worth. Not the checklist. Not the "busy-ness." Not the worldly pressures that cause our lives to become a ticking timebomb of one event to the next.
We're called "human beings," not "human doings," for a reason.
Being busy and having things to do makes us feel important without us even realizing it. We idol the professional who works umpteen hours of the day because she is "accomplishing" something great. We admire the student who can balance "achieving" great grades, obtaining leadership positions in various organizations, and still do fun activities with her friends. We all want to do these things.
I have always strived to do those things.
But here's the secret: being busy is the most draining thing imaginable. We are not meant to feel drained... we are meant to be full of life.
I'm not telling you to quit all of your organizations or skip class or miss out on opportunities for fear of being busy. Maybe, instead of putting your worth in your busy-ness, try describing your days as "full." Having a full, rich day of events does not carry the weight of describing yourself as busy. I refuse to define myself by my checklists anymore.
All we have to do is simply BE. Just take a moment to breathe as your alarm strikes at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow, because even if you forget to accomplish something or don't make it to your meeting on time, God will not love you any less or any more.
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." -- Matthew 11:28.
