Single-Tasking

I am the Queen of multi-tasking.

 

And I take great pride in my ability to juggle several things at once.

 

I am nearly always doing at least two or three things at once.  And even when I am doing just one thing, my mind is always elsewhere.

 

I am always busy, always thinking about different things, always focused on several ideas.

 

I hardly ever switch off.

 

And I am exhausted.

 

So I want to learn how to stop.  I want to learn how to slow down.  I want to focus on just one thing at a time.  I want to learn how to still my heart and my mind and my soul.

 

I want to become a competent single-tasker.

 

"Be still and know that I am God."

[Psalm 46:10 NIV]

 

Without moving or doing or thinking, I want to learn what it means to know that God is God.

 

There is definitely a time for multi-tasking and there are definitely things in my life which require this skill.  But my relationship with God is not one of them.

 

I don't want to pray or read the Bible with my mind elsewhere, with my heart elsewhere. I want to learn how to be a fully committed single-tasker. 

 

I imagine it will be uncomfortable and unfamiliar and frustrating at first, as I am so used to multi-tasking. 

 

But it will be worth it, if it means that I really do know that God is God.

 

 

Bath Time

I listened to an article this evening about how taking a bath is becoming less popular: most people these days opt for a shower or a modern 'wet room'. 

 

The main reason being baths are too slow for today's fast-paced life.

 

But that is exactly the reason why I love taking a bath.  I love having time to myself when I know I won't be disturbed or interrupted by phone calls or texts or emails or notifications.  I can spend an hour or so reading a book or listening to music with a glass of wine.  And I leave the bathroom feeling completely relaxed and rested, having taken time out from the busyness of life.

 

And the reason it is so relaxing is because there is no rushing about it. 

 

There is no such thing as a 'quick bath'.  A bath should be indulgent and lengthy.  When the Romans used to take baths, they usually lasted for several hours.  They were long and relaxing and restoring.

 

The Bible talks about God providing this kind of restorative rest for us:

 

         "The Lord is my shepherd;
         I have all that I need.
         He lets me rest in green meadows;
         he leads me beside peaceful streams.
         He renews my strength."

 

         [Psalm 23:1-3 NLT, emphasis mine]

 

Sometimes we judge our successes and our worth on our busyness.  If we are always rushing somewhere or other and are constantly flapping about because we have so much to do, we sometimes feel more important.  We can get to thinking that the world might stop if we did. 

 

And we think this about God too.  We can think that He will value us more, or be more pleased or impressed with us if we're one of those people who is constantly doing something for God/the church/others.

 

But this verse says that God lets us rest.  It is His desire that we take time out so that we don't burn out.

 

Perhaps it is not that baths are too slow for our lives, but that our lives are too fast for baths.  Perhaps we need to slow down and give ourselves more time and space to relax.

 

As for me, I'm off to run a bath...