Workaholics: You May Not Like the Truth

We're all so incredibly busy. It's a busy busy life with big responsibilities ahead of you. Life can get so hectic, that the only thing you get to do when you come home is eat, poop and go to bed. (That comma in there is very important.) Weekends are for relaxing, sleeping and binge watching Netflix. Work has taken precedence over everything: your family, your friends, God, and even time for yourself. There's no balance, no give, no relief in sight. Your child begs for your attention, but you're just too incredibly exhausted to even entertain the thought of playing outside with them or helping them with their homework. You have your own crap to deal with. Your child is desperately wanting to share their day with you, so that you'll be proud of their accomplishments, but they start realizing that they're talking to someone who is half asleep already. So they take their A+ test paper and tuck it back into their binder and walk upstairs defeated...and sad.

It's been a couple of years since you visited your grandmother. You're lucky she's still alive after all these years. It's been a few months since you visited your parents. But they can wait, and your friends are always on Facebook to remind you that they're still alive if ever, you want to get together and catch up. We hold these unrealistic expectations of seeing everyone at a later date, because we never want to entertain the thought of possibly losing one of our loved ones. Every single day is a blessing to be alive, but every single day you're too busy to even notice you're alive. Life has been taken for granted, because you expect to wake up the next morning and go to work to only come home to eat, poop and go to sleep and do it all over again. "Tomorrow I'll call mom to see her," or "I'll take a trip over to grandma's to see how she's doing this weekend."

The phone rings. You don't even want to answer it because you feel it may be a telemarketer. Besides, who uses landlines anymore? But you answer it anyway.

The voice on the other end sounds unfamiliar, but you still listen anyway.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your mother was in a terrible car accident and was killed by a drunk driver."

"What? She was healthy! She wasn't supposed to be out that late anyway -- I don't get it."

Doesn't matter.

All you can do now is just play some recorded voice mail checking up on you. "Hi, it's mom. Just checking up on ya. When you coming down to visit us? Love and miss you!" 

I know, you were gonna go last week and then planned on going the week afterwards, but but but. Put mom aside for a sec. What about your wife? She hasn't been touched in months and you never have the time or day to just sit with her for a cup of coffee in the morning or to talk to her before you turn out the lights at night. Your bedroom has become a room for the weary, not for the married. But you're keeping the house together by working -- so everything is fine...everything is fine. Everybody is taken care of, right? Your kid cries himself to sleep because he hardly gets any attention and can't let you know he's being bullied at school and your wife falls asleep feeling neglected and insecure because you never show her any affection anymore because well, you're exhausted! After the day you had, who could even think of being romantic?

Until you get the phone call.

People aren't meant to be put aside. God isn't meant to be put aside. In fact, in the Bible, putting something before God is making that one thing an idol. To have "too much" of one thing that it totally drives your life into a pit of exhaustion is considered an "idol." When do you even pray? In the car? For how long? God wants us to be productive, but God also wants us to BE STILL. Hear Him. Take care of your family -- not in the monetary way, but in the loving family kind of way. They did an interesting study on hospice patients who were dying. NONE of them ever said, "I wish I had worked more."

Even if you're a busy little bee, take time for your loved ones. Be there for those who need you. Don't take your loved ones for granted. They're here one day and gone the next and it can happen just. like. that.

For more of Deb's articles, please visit: www.debrapasquella.com or join her on Facebook and Twitter. Check out her cooking blog for some of her famous recipes! Feel free to watch Deb's live broadcasts over on Periscope as well!