"Be Still and Listen"

Very often I get so caught up in the constant rush of life, I forget to just "be still and listen".  If you are outside, looking in at my life, it seems incredibly hectic.  As my 80 year old grammie tells me "You're busier than a cat on a hot tin roof!  I get tired just listening to all you do.", but from where I sit, it's just life.  In the middle of homeschooling, taking care of my family, planning a daughter's wedding, major renovations to the house, etc, etc, etc, the tree down in the yard from a storm, the horses escaping out of the pasture into a neighbor's yard, or making a midnight run to an airport 2 hours away to pick up a son returning from military training are just the bumps in life.  "It is what it is" and no amount of anger or resentment or self pity is going to change what needs to be done.  It's a pretty good attitude for someone with control issues like me.  (There I admitted it, I have control issues!) 

I am also a giver - no matter how busy I am, if I can see a need to fill to help someone else's life, I try to fit it in.  This is where the "be still and listen" part comes in - several weeks ago I learned of a children's charity I felt led to help with.  It called to my heart since I have children of my own, I have the ability to help and could do so as my time allows rather than squeezing in another deadline, so I emailed the company expressing my desire to help.  Each day, I have been disappointed to open my in box and not see any reply from the charity.  Thinking "why haven't the emailed me back - I want to help!" 

This morning it finally hit me as I checked my email - I need to "be still and listen".  The lack of reply is God's way of telling me to slow down and don't add any more on my plate.  I need to listen to Him.  I may have good intentions, I may have the desire, and I most likely have the ability and possibly the time, but that doesn't mean it's what I need to do.  Having a servant's heart is a good thing, but my role here on earth is serving my family - at least for this season in my life.  This season will pass, my children will grow up and move on with their own lives and my season will change.  Perhaps then, it will be a season of serving others.  For now, I will "be still and listen" to God's voice as He tells me there is enough filling up this season of my life right now.