Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

It is so easy to get busy. Ask most people how they are and you'll hear the word "busy" within the first 5 seconds of their response. It's a national (perhaps global) epidemic.

And when we're busy, we often forget the important things in favor of the urgent things; ultimately a very poor long-term choice. Yet, I continue to make that choice regularly.

This morning a friend forwarded a quote I have seen before, but had forgotten. I share it here to remind myself and in the hope that it may be of encouragement to you.

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them. --- Henri Nouwen---