The Busy Month of December

I wish I could figure out how to reduce the busyness of December. There are mid-terms, regular classes, church functions, ministries, gifts to buy, gifts to make and deliver, regular dental or doctor appointments, car inspections, children's activities, visits to make or prepare for, decorating to do, cards to buy and mail, and of course still there is laundry, cleaning, sleeping, and food preparation for every day living. Each year gets busier and busier. As kids age, life gets busier and busier. I had no idea this is how the pace would get. 

If I think of reducing what I do, it won't feel like Christmas though. It is a strange paradox. 

In the midst of it all, my friend is dealing with cancer and another health problem that is giving her terrible pain. This puts life in perspective.

No matter how busy we are, isn't it true that when someone who has poured in to us, or our kids, needs help, we find time? 

Something I've learned this past year is that since time is so precious, spending it carefully makes good sense when it comes to the emotional and physical effort. Friendship takes work. I'm not on Facebook because its easy, surfacey relationships make me feel worse, not better. I don't want to be friends with someone who only has time for me if I'm on their virtual platform, nor do I want to know all the difficulties going on with every person I've ever met. I don't have the emotional time or energy to pray for THAT many people. And I surely don't want to get callous to the needs of other people, which I know happens with information overload. I also get too worked up knowing more details about people because of the way online living works, things I wouldn't know if our interactions were simply in person. 

What I love and want to spend time on are people who invest in me the same way I invest in them. I've seen that some people really make the effort and take the time to be friends, while others come and go for no reason at all. The problem with inconsistency is that troubles come and go, too, and those who are regularly there through them end up being close friends.  Consistency builds lasting, strong relationships.