No Time for Relationships

    
     Are there relationships in your life that are suffering coz you just don't have enuf time? Do you find yourself so busy that you can't go out to lunch with friends, take vacations, play with your kids, or just sit and enjoy the day? The peace if life can sometimes get so out of control; that it feels like there's nothing we can do abt it. We run from activity to activity just to keep going. We microwave our foods because we don't have time to do anything else. We say things like, "I've been meaning to do that - I've just been too busy." And the things of eternal value suffer. If you feel that way u r not alone: more than half of the people around of the world feel their busy schedule hinders them from spending more time with God.
     Busyness never creates good memories, it never develops relationships, and it certainly never expresses love to our loved ones. Instead, it does its best to hijack those meaningful moments in our lives. Busyness doesn't have much to payoff except to keep our stuff coming in, cleaned up, organized, or protected. Coz when you think about it, a large part of busyness has to do with stuff. We want to keep all our stuff - house, cars, boats, toys, and activities - so we work hard to pay the bills. And we want to buy new stuff, so we work even harder. We want to take care of the stuff we already have, so we spend much of our days cleaning it, straightening it, and organizing it. We fill our schedules with all kinds of activities like sports, hobbies, and suddenly there's more stuff to do than there is time in the day. Of course, all that stuff isn't inherently bad - some of it is beneficial and builds lasting relationships. But when there's more stuff than time, something or someone suffers, and most often it isn't just us, but also those we love.
     Like it or not, stuff impacts our love lives.Some parents buy the lie that their kids need all the stuff they ask for, and for them long hours and hectic schedules means love. But the kids end up getting what they don't really need instead of what they do need, which is time with their parents. Some people say it's not quantity that matters but quality. But just ask a ten-year-old if she'd rather have a high quality square of fine chocolate imported from France or a big bag of Hershey's chocolate kisses.
     Quantity trumps quality every time. Love is built on time spent, not on how good the time is. Time spent sitting on the back porch, watching the birds fly by, or just walking around the neighborhood builds lasting, loving memories. But how many times does busyness get in the way of those moments?
     If life is too busy - if we wish we had more time, more love, more relationships - then it might be time to consider the pull of stuff in our lives.
     Search for peace, and work to maintain it.