Harvesting a Whirlwind

Hosea 8:7 says, "They have planted the wind, and will harvest the whirlwind."  In my 20's through 40's, I would say that was what I was busy harvesting, a whirlwind. I married at 18, and Brett and I moved from the mid west, to the west coast, to the east coast, to the mid west, to the east coast and back to the mid west all within the first seven years of our marriage.   Plus add two babies in those first four years.  That was the whirlwind of my early 20's.  Just typing it makes my head spin.

Then in my late 20's early 30's we were raising two elementary school children, Brett and I both working, kids involved in dance and baseball.  All heavily involved in church activities, friends, family that lived 2 hours away in different directions.  It seemed we were on the go all the time.

In my late 30's we had teenagers, need I say more?  Brett and I both working. Brett and I both back in school.  Still all heavily involved in various ministries at church.  It seemed we were all going, all the time, in different directions.  Ask anyone in my family about their favorite places to eat in St. Louis and I would bet they all mention "Bob's Chinese", and Fritz's ice cream. One of the reasons is, because as everyone started going in different directions, those were two places we met together on a regular basis and sat down and ate together.  But those were brief moments in our whirlwind life.

In my 40's it was kids in college, everyone working, graduations, and weddings.  In fact, in a six month time period, both kids got married, Brett and I both left our jobs, sold our house, left our church, friends, and kids in St Louis to relocate to Southern Illinois.  Yet, when I ended up in the ER I was surprised to be told I was having a panic attack. Imagine that.

I loved those years, but as I look back on them now, I know I planted and harvested the whirlwind.  One of my favorite lines was, "I work better under a deadline, and function better under stress".  That was a lie, who functions better under stress?  Who makes better decisions when they are rushed? I know I cultivated that life style, because if I was constantly on the go, and constantly keeping all the balls juggling in the air, I didn't have time to deal with real issues.  I didn't have to deal with issues from my past or issues in my every day life.  God will let you go on like that for awhile, but eventually He says, "Be still and know that I am God."

That is what the second half of life is for me, LEARNING to slow down.  There are still too many days, where I am still way to busy. But I have a gauge for measuring that now.  When I look down, and see that I have been too busy to cut my toenails, then I know it is time to pull down the sails, and wait for the wind to die down.

Those early years are going to be busy years, that is just part of that season of life.  But there is a difference between being busy and creating busy.  Stop and take a few minutes to examine your life. Are you planting the wind, and cultivating, and harvesting an unnecessary whirlwind.  You can choose to hang on and be tossed around by the whirlwind, or you can learn to slow down and enjoy the breeze.  The choices really are yours to make.
Thanks for reading!