It’s funny how we think we’re the only ones dealing with overwhelm and busyness isn’t it? I got a reminder this week that we’re not alone and we’re not the first generation to struggle with being busy, nor to find solutions.

My mom was combing through a box of old photos and clippings that belonged to my great-aunt Mary, who remained single throughout her life and lived what everyone presumed to be a peaceful life in an upstairs apartment of the home my Mom and her family lived in when my Mom was a kid. Inside this box was a yellowed piece of paper cut out from a magazine with a poem on it and Mary’s handwriting on the back stating “I do like this one”. 

The poem is called “Avowal” which is an affirmation of the truth; an honest admission; a way of owning up to or declaring something. The author, Rowena Cheney, is unknown so I don’t know what time period this came from, but it was clipped from a magazine likely in the 1950’s. Whether you believe in God or the Universe or just the connectedness of everything, this poem speaks to the need for us all to slow down, not get too wrapped up in superficial things, and appreciate our time here.

It seems that no matter what decade or what circumstances, busyness has always been something that can get in the way of living a wonderful life – if we let it. Let’s vow not to let it. 

Avowal

“But I have been so busy…”
These are the words we say
Sometimes, when we’ve forgotten
To think of God – to pray.

Yes I have been too busy
With unimportant things
With superficial living
And problems which it brings.

Too busy to remember
To watch with Him one hour
Rejoicing in His kingdom
His glory and His power.

I will not be too busy
Henceforth I humbly vow
His gift, abundant living,
His blessings, here and now

are mine to claim, and cherish
Within my secret heart;
And time to thank and praise Him
Shall be a happy part

Of every day. Too busy
To talk with him? No, never!
Bright moments spent with Him shall be
Part of my life – for ever!

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