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Clearing Some Space

We live in amazing time. Thanks to airplanes, we can be in a Saskatchewan blizzard in the morning and be sitting on a beach in the Caribbean later that afternoon. Microwaves can take a piece of meat that is frozen as solid as a bowling ball and thaw it in a few minutes. We can email people all over the world and expect an answer in minutes. "Facebook" allows us to keep track of every last little thing our friends are doing or thinking (Ok – maybe I could do without that one).

Compared to the world that my ninety-year-old Grandma grew up in, life has sped up a lot. We can do more, see more and have more. In most ways, that is a good thing. However, busyness can have a price too. As we do more and more, important stuff can be squeezed out.

Luke 10:38-42 tells the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. One day Jesus came to their home and, right away, Martha got up and got to work. Mary, on the other hand, decided to sit and listen to Jesus. As Martha continued to work, she is described as being “distracted” (verse 40), “worried” and “upset” (verse 41). Her busyness was making her miserable. In fact, her busyness caused her to be mad at her sister and to miss the most important thing of the day; visiting with Jesus.

The fact is that busyness will always push out faith. Faith will never seem like an urgent thing (I can always straighten that out later, right?), so we have to make room for it. In the middle of our busy, hectic lives, we need to find a way to slow down, listen, pray and think about the things of God.

In a world where many people are “distracted, worried and upset”, hurrying from one thing to the next, you can find peace and joy by slowing down and clearing some space for God.

Try it. You may be surprised at what God does when he has some room to work in your life.

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