Busy.  Busy.  Busy.  It has become the hum that sounds throughout American life and dare I say, the world.  Now, we wrestle to make time for the Eternal.  We struggle to squeeze the omnipresent God into overcrowded schedules, to follow Christ in overcommitted lives.  We have signed up for newsletters, coupons and alerts.  We have raised our hands for so many things that it can be hard to see the hand of Christ waving and saying, “Hey.  Over here!”

Getting our attention is one thing. Christ holding our attention is another.  We see Jesus off in the distance and we say to ourselves, “I’ll catch up.  Just let me finish this last thing.”  Because we have time, right?

Jesus reminds us in Mark 1.29-39 that despite our schedules, it is important to take time for the sacred, that we cannot truly and fully function without taking a break.  And Jesus did it.  Preaching and teaching, healing and delivering, Jesus is moving from one city to the next.  He is needed and yet, he realizes that he has needs as well.

Giving our time in service to others is important but so is taking the time to pray, to listen and discern, to reflect and worship—away from the hustle and bustle, apart from the push and pull of the world’s commitments, aside from the tug of our family ties.  Even Jesus, the very Son of God, affirmed the need to be still.  Yes, I know, you don’t have the time.  So, take the time!