There are some times in my life, like everyone’s life, when things get a little hectic and crazy. Too many irons in the fire, too many things to do, being pulled in too many directions. You all know them, because this is an occupational hazard of being alive at this time in the world. Those are the times when I find myself trapped in a little spiral of business – and having so many things to do and each of them take a chunk of time, so that sometimes I just get stuck – paralyzed you into doing nothing.
That is when I go to a favorite little saying that I learned in a class about stress relief given to priests. It is a saying and once you hear it, you’ll know all you need to know about how to use this effective tool. Instead of saying: “I don’t have enough time to get anything done” –(because sometimes that is exactly what it feels like) – a healthier response is to finish this statement. “I have just enough time to do WHAT?” I have just enough time to …read the table of contents and intro for the book report due in four day. I have just enough time to …write out a prioritized list of what needs to happen. I have just enough time, not to do the entire load of laundry, but to …get my whites done. I have just enough time to…
And saying and acting in accordance always seems to get me “unstuck.” Sure, there are still mountains of things that eventually I will have to get to, but somehow, just starting one small thing is enough to get me past the paralysis of ‘so many things that have to get done.”
It seems that Jesus knew this trick – whether as a question he asked, or minimally, by the behavior that he chose. You can see the scene. The disciples return from their mission. They had so much to talk about, so much to process through – and everyone was clamoring for a bit of the master’s time and attention. And suddenly, it is a little overwhelming for everyone, including Jesus. So Jesus recommends a “time out’ – let’s go to a quiet place for a while, just to settle down, just to breathe, just to let there be room for God to act. And so they take off. But people get to see them go, and the routes across the Sea of Galilee in that northern corner are pretty predictable, so they cut Jesus off at the pass, and start to gather where he will strike land.
Jesus glances to the shore, and he sees what is coming. So what does Jesus do? He ‘asks that question’ – I don’t have enough time to go on a mini-retreat with my disciples, but I do have just enough time to do what?” And in my mind’s eye, he does the math – we have about 18 minutes (whether they used minutes as a measure of time, I am not sure) before we hit shore. 18 minute before we are once more surrounded by that needy, adoring crowd. “I have just enough time to do what?” he asks. And in my mind’s eye, he tells the boys – I’ll be in the back of boat – leave me alone for a few… He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. He feels the sun shining warm on his face. He focuses on the sounds of the oars pulling through the water, the gulls cry in the air, the water lapping distantly on the shoreline. I have just enough time to acknowledge my Father God’s love for me and his people. Just enough time to slow my heart down and center in the love of God for me. And that is exactly what he does.
When he reaches the shore, as exhausted as he and his disciples might have been, he is now ready to minister to the crowds, because he had just enough time to tap into the Father’s love and way of seeing, and knew that they were sheep without a shepherd.
I think we all understand asking that question as a matter of stress relief – “I have just enough time to do what?” However, this week, what would it be to ask that question in the realm of our spiritual life? I don’t have time to read the 4 Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, but I can read the intro. I don’t have time to pray a whole rosary, but I can get in a decade while waiting for soccer camp to be done. I don’t have time for a holy hour, but I can linger over the morning cup of coffee, and invited God to be present in my day.
What do you have just enough time for – TODAY – in your relationship with God? And once you hear the answer, then get to it…