When BUSY Pulls You Off Course

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word BUSY lately. Someone once spelled it out as:

Burden

Under

Satan’s

Yoke

And honestly… that hit a little too close to home these past couple of weeks.

Work has been full tilt. I’ve started going back to the gym (because Polish cooking — courtesy of my wonderful wife — has been adding to my middle!), and between that and everything else, my energy has felt lower than usual. Even though my wife and I are very intentional about observing the Sabbath and not doing any work on that day, family obligations have kept our Sundays full. Not “working”… but definitely not resting either.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I took even a half day just to breathe.

So this week, I did it. A mental‑health half day. And to my delight, my wife joined me. We took the dogs down to the lake and walked through a park they had never been to before. There was sunshine, wading in the water, endless sniffing, and the simple joy of being together. It was exactly the emotional reset I didn’t know I needed.

I’m not entirely sure why these last couple of weeks have felt heavier than others. Maybe it’s the summer heat. Maybe the cough/cold we both just got over drained me more than I realized. Or maybe it was something deeper.

Because here’s the truth:

Every morning, without fail, I start my day in The Word. I use YouVersion’s verse‑of‑the‑day, and I’ve been working through the Bible‑in‑a‑year plan with The Bible Project. (If you haven’t checked out their work — bibleproject.com — I highly recommend it.)

But lately… my morning felt like a "ritual".  It started to feel like another responsibility.

My head knew that wasn’t right.

My heart, though, was lagging behind.

Until that half day off.

Walking through a quiet park in the middle of the day — no cars, almost no people, just sunshine, water, and His Creation — reminded me of something I had forgotten:

I am part of His Creation.

I am one of His Chosen.

I am blessed because of my relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God doesn’t want me to connect with Him out of ritual or responsiblity.

He wants relationship — meaningful, personal, heartfelt.

He wants me to share my struggles, my burdens, and my victories.

He wants me to hold His JOY in my heart and stay grateful for what Jesus has done… and what He continues to do in my life.

That little respite reminded me of what truly matters:

God. My wife. My family. My dogs. My friends.

Everything else is just stuff.

We can’t let the stuff distract us from what’s important.

We can’t let Satan nudge us just off course — just busy enough — that we miss the doorway when our time comes.

There will always be more work to do.

You will never be “finished.”

So don’t let BUSY become a Burden Under Satan’s Yoke.

Instead:

“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”

(Matthew 6:33)

Take the time to rest.

Take the time to breathe.

Take the time to reconnect with the One who made you.

Because when you do… everything else falls back into its proper place.