What are you too busy for?

I’m pretty busy. Work, writing, church, family, friends–that sweet little dog. Oh, and I try to do the laundry once in a while. Dusting I let slide. But sometimes I have to stop and consider what it is that I’m busy about. And what I might be letting slide without meaning to.
I had a really great conversation with a friend recently about some of the challenges of life. We’d both gone through times of being downcast, of struggling with our lives. Dark nights of the soul. I think everyone goes through these. And I think almost everyone tries to pretend they aren’t for the benefit of friends and family.
You can be mired deep in your own muck, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, and still you’ll paste on a smile and tell everyone you’re “fine.” I’ve done it. My friend has done it. It was good to sit down together and talk about being in that place and hoping never to return.
But here’s the kicker. I noticed my friend wasn’t quite her usual self. I saw how weary she seemed. I noted the smile that didn’t leave her lips. And I thought to myself that I should talk to her. I should ask her how she was doing really. But I didn’t. I was busy. She was busy. And surely she would say something if she needed my help. I mean, she was probably just a little tired.
I apologized to my friend for seeing her distress and choosing to let it slide. I asked her to call me if she ever got to that place again. And I will surely reach out to her if I ever see that weariness in her eyes again. And I think she’ll do the same for me.
It’s one thing to be too busy to dust. It’s quite another to be too busy to reach out to someone who’s sinking.
Haggai 1:7-10 – This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.”