Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear friend,

Earlier this week I heard a story on the radio about burnout. The commentator said that all of the the "optimization" of the things we do just makes things that are leisurely more like work. I immediately thought of my fitbit and the steps I measure rather than just enjoying the walk. I thought of my lists, my lists of to-dos and my list of to-buys and my list of to-pick-ups. I am not complaining, these things help me work efficiently, I know what works for me. Nor is this a cry for burnout help, though it is a very real and difficult thing that there is just "so much" for us all to take in, and take on. However, as I look at the week's lists and contemplate what the next might hold, I thought of something that helped me to begin that process of laying those lists down as helpful, but not salvation, this week or any other.

What if I prayed my list! Or prayed for my list. What if I prayed in thanks for the gifts of opportunity to serve and work, prayed in thanks for the paper and pen and time, prayed for the people I would encounter in each block of "doing," prayed for the work that would go undone and the work that would get done. This may look different for you, taking a moment to pray your calendar or mental check-list, but the end, hopefully, is knowing that we are not all that we can feverishly accomplish.

This is not optimization, at least I hope it's not. I hope instead it is tethering me back to the source of love and light and salvation, so that I may be still and know God in the midst of it all, something to help us hold it all a little more lightly. May you have moments of still that strengthen you for all the work of your days.
Taylor+