Busyness

In a 2018 study, 74 percent of US parents of kids under the age of 18 said that they sometimes feel too busy to enjoy life. Your kids are likely involved in a lot of things, which can be fun but also stressful and anxiety-inducing for the whole family. Signs of stressed-out kids can include tiredness, short attention spans and short tempers. As a family, evaluate the activities that are stretching your family thin. What are the priorities in your home and for your kids? Which activities support those priorities and which might be detractors? Most of all, do whatever you can to manage your family’s schedule to help kids have time to focus on Jesus.

Here’s how we discussed this topic and how you can discuss it at home: 

Discuss: What are some things that keep you very busy?

Discuss: Do you think being overly busy is a good thing or a bad thing? Why?

Discuss: What do you think God says about that?

Say: Being busy can be fun, but it can also be stressful. Sometimes we get so busy doing so many things we just go from one thing to the next. We don’t get to rest or even enjoy what we have been doing. Sometimes, our busyness distracts us from the most important thing—our relationship with Jesus. Sports, lessons, homework and friends are all great things and gifts from God. However, we should worship God through the things we do. We can end up worshiping our activities by putting all of our focus and hope in those things. In Luke 12:34, Jesus says: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let’s focus our hearts on Him first, even if that means slowing down and saying no to the busyness.