Permission to do nothing

This summer began quite chaotically for the Stephens household: my working working on an extremely stressful project at work, plus starting my own business; Babe putting in long hours caring for our garden and chickens; the teenager taking Driver's Ed (Lord, help us all), tech team, and student ministry; and Bean playing baseball.  Most of the time we didn't know whether we were coming or going.  We had to create a family calendar on Google just to stay on top of things.  Every request and invitation had to be thoroughly planned and stuffed within our tight schedule.  Busy was an understatement.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago.  Bean's baseball season ended; the teenager was done with Driver's Ed; and the weeds in the garden have stayed at bay.  What do you do with that extra time?  Well, if you're me, you cram it with work.  A mom's work is never done, right?

I'm starting to rethink that.  I'm starting to think that "busy" is an obsession, or quite possibly an addiction.  Just like the codependent needs that relationship to feel whole, the busy addict needs no free time to feel normal.  I'm starting to think that "busy" like most things, is only healthy in moderation and that there needs to be some downtime built into every week.  Not just for physical rest, but for mental clarity.  How can I hear God's whispers if every part of my brain is focused on "the next task"?

So this week, I decided I need to leave a few holes in my calendar.  I may not get as many tasks checked off my ever-growing list, but I get to do family dinner devotions and maybe enjoy an impromptu Quik Trip visit.  Yes, I still have loads of laundry to fold and I still have YouTube videos to make and edit. But at the end of the day, when I'm cracking jokes with the teenager; listening to crazy goose golf stories from Babe; or snuggling and looking into Bean's eyes, I see all I need for permission to do nothing.