I usually write a letter like this in the beginning of Advent. Slow down, take a breath, don’t let yourself get so overwhelmed. But, since the start of school, what I’ve been noticing, is all our families seem to be running.
Right now we have soccer, baseball, softball, hockey and cheerleading. Dance, Girl Scouts and special after school classes have started. Our young families are running around trying to keep up.
Now I don’t want to say stop the activities. But, I do want to say, be sue you get some down time. Be sure to take time for yourself to relax, read a book, take a nap. When our children were involved in many activities, I remember sitting in the car reading a book. My “me time” was during the half hour overlap between dropping off one and picking up the other. It wasn’t much, but it was relaxing for me.
Don’t let your busyness keep God out of your life. Come to church on a Sunday morning to keep yourself grounded. Last week, I was happy to see many of our youth attending Sunday School and Jr Youth Group, even though they could not stay for the entire session. I had one youth eating his lunch during confirmation orientation, because he had to run to his baseball game, as soon as we were finished. As the youth group continued, five youth left for cheerleading, baseball and soccer, but they were there for part of it. Five others remained to the end.
During this busy season, may all of us remain grounded in God. Attending church may seem like one more thing on your list, but it is so much more than that. It is the place where you can put your life into perspective. It is the place where you can draw the strength you need, to keep you going. It is the place where people, who are as busy as you, are making church a priority in their lives. It is the place where your children learn how to live.
Thank you to those parents who brought their children to youth group and then took them to their game. You showed your children that church is important. You also showed them that they do not need to make a choice. You can be involved in activities outside and inside the church at the same time.
I continue to keep all our busy families in my prayers.
