by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Be still, and know that I am God.

I wonder if you share one of my concerns for my children: the pressure to be busy. Do you find it as difficult to "be still" as our family does?

There is a strong current in our country to involve our children in a myriad of activities at younger and younger ages. Parents naturally want to produce the brightest, best-dressed and most-talented children. They fear that, if they don't provide Tommy with music lessons at age three, gymnastics at four, art and nature studies two afternoons a week in the summer, and T-ball by the time he is five, that he will grow up handicapped.

And what do the children feel? Do they really want all this activity? Or have their parents persuaded them to want it?

It is my opinion that children who grow up with an abundance of activity and busyness become adults who can't live without it-sort of "activity junkies." They don't know how to contemplate, to rest, to think, to "be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).

And many parents are not much better. Why, really, are we hurrying so? We need to ask, "Why am I involved in Junior League, PTA or the midweek women's Bible study? Or working full-time?" I've had to ask just how essential it was for me to do the watercolor painting, sewing, quilting and handiwork I used to do. Gently over the years, He has guided me in setting aside (perhaps just temporarily) most of these activities in order to have time to be more focused as a mother.

It isn't always easy to give up such busyness, or to assert authority over your schedule. But I wouldn't trade the opportunity to instill a calm heart in my children for all the busyness in the world.

Prayer:

Pray that God will increase your ability to claim your time schedule for Him, and to experience His presence even in the midst of necessary busyness.

Discuss: Do you feel that you and your family are too busy? What activities do you and your children participate in primarily because of social pressure? Have you taken a recent inventory of family activities in order to rank their importance?

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