Scurry Syndrome

My friend Belinda at Whatever He Says posted something the other day that keeps coming back to my mind:

I recognized that paradoxically, I was multi-tasking during my “quiet time.” There was no rush to do any of these things, nor any good reason to do more than one thing at a time. I decided to stop and savour each thing individually instead of trying to do so many things at once. (click the quotation to read the full post.)

Especially at this time of year it’s easy to slip into scurry mode, rushing, hurrying, trying to keep track of three or four things at once.

Somehow God slowed me down this Advent season, and I’ve been enjoying such a sense of peace. A couple of times this week, wisps of “hurry” stirred within me and I realized what had been missing in the peace: anxiety. No thank you, I do not want it back. I’ve been consciously stopping to pray and remind myself that everything is in God’s hands and not mine.

Let’s have a conversation: How do you keep the scurry syndrome from ruling your life?

4 thoughts on “Scurry Syndrome

  1. Margaret

    Joanna,

    Being human can be frustrating for us. 🙂 And, it’s like you and Belinda have noticed, we need to savor the moment….. Yesterday, I had a few hours of savoring many moments…. The street plow left a large berm all along our parking area….. Since it was hard pack and heavy, it took awhile to clear the 53 foot area….. In that time, during every moment I needed a breather, I gave thanks for what I was able to do — after all, a man my age in a motorized wheelchair passed by and gave an opportunity to visit — other people drove by and cheerily waved — neighboring kids came home from school and we got to visit…..

    It was not time wasted, but time to make things better and to enjoy the “doing”.

    Margaret

    Reply
    1. joannamallory

      Margaret, that’s the sort of attitude I’d like to cultivate — being thankful and positive in the rest moments instead of just noticing how tiring the task is. Think what you’d have missed if your attitude wasn’t right. That would have been time wasted!

      Reply
  2. Belinda Burston

    Dear Joanna and Margaret, It feels as though, in the Kingdom of God right now, there is a Symphony of Peace over riding the Scurry Syndrome. I love how the Holy Spirit whispers the same message to multiple hearts until we all sing together in chorus: Glory to God in the Highest–and on earth, peace….

    Reply

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