FOMO

Each week, I write a Tuesday letter trying to make sense of the world in which we live. My hope is that we can learn to see the world through the lens of Scripture, to see the world as God sees, and to find our place in God’s plan. This week, I tried to find a wise word to offer about the celebration and grief in the Holy Land- the joy of hostages home with their families, and the hopelessness of Palestinians returning to the rubble that once was home. The reality in that region is complex. To comment about the current situation feels like walking in a mine field. I need time and certainly more prayer to hear through the din of voices the voice of our good and gracious God.

Next, I tried to make sense of the total collapse of all of my favorite sports teams. What happened to the beginning of fall with so much promise? We dared to dream of another Super Bowl run, another shot at the World Series, and those of us who follow Penn State imagined vying for the national championship. Week one, week two, week three just spurred our hope into a frenzy, only to see those hopes crash and burn. Now, one coach is on the unemployment line, and the others are frantically trying to regroup. I am sure there is a lesson in all of this, but for now, that wise word is alluding me.

So, I hope you will forgive me as I offer just a simple word today.

My husband insists that he will not retire until I do. He fears the ‘honey do’ list that I would create to keep him busy. Each time I talk about what could be on that list, the list just seems to grow- all those projects delayed because life is too busy, the wish-list of new possibilities, and just the regular realities of daily life. Greg knows that even if he began to tackle the list, for each task accomplished, I would add two more in its place. So, he won’t retire until I can tackle the ‘honey do’ list with him.

Are you a list maker? I make a list every Monday of the essentials that must be done that week, but I never finish the list. And just as Greg fears, I add to my own list even as I cross off completed items. Sometimes, at the end of the week, I have more items on the list yet to be done than were on the original Monday plan.

Life just seems to be like that… too much to do, too little time

That’s the complaint that I have heard from some in our faith community about our Church Has Left the Building experience. This year we have 30 projects- so many wonderful ways to serve. We love to get our hands busy in mission, to pour out our resources, giving ourselves away all for the sake of God’s people in the name of Jesus. But the opportunities are so good, the need so great, the causes so important that many of us want to help in more than one place and give to more than one collection. How can we do it all?

When I talk to people about all our mission opportunities, I am reminded of my granddaughters who struggle with FOMO- Fear of Missing Out. They are active, interested, invited, and willing, but there is never enough time to do all that they want to do. The birthday party is on the same day as a youth event. The retreat is on the same weekend as a family outing. Vacation Bible school is at the same time as play practice. Unless they clone themselves, they will have to decide what is most important and decline the other very tempting opportunities. How many of us have the same challenges?

This December, I will face my own FOMO experience. My niece is getting married on the first Saturday of December in Maine. Yes, I, too, am wondering about the wisdom of a wedding in Maine in December. But she wanted the Christmas feeling, and she lives outside Boston near a quaint town in Maine, thus a winter wedding where it could snow. Unfortunately, that weekend is also the date of our Advent Brunch- one of my favorite church events! And try as I might, I could not figure out how to be in Maine at a wedding on Saturday night, and in New Britain bright and early for worship and brunch on Sunday. My thought of driving through the night did not go over very well with my husband. So, I will have to eat my FOMO and miss a special moment at LVC.

Life just seems to be like that… too much to do, too little time.

But then I remember a wise professor I had in seminary. He taught an unusual, yet very practical class, entitled Helpful Hints for a Busy Pastor. All semester he shared the insights he had gained from 30 years leading a church. Each class provided lessons that I would need for the years ahead. One of the truths he taught was that God is the great Economist of Time. His reasoning: since God created time, and God ordered time, and God called his people to live and serve within a world governed by time, and God knows how much time it takes to do things, then there must be enough time to do all that we are called to do. My professor reminded us that if we run out of time, we have either added items to the to-do list that were not God’s call, or we have chosen to do the work in a way that is not God’s design.

So, to those who feel that there are too many opportunities, and not enough time and resources to do all that CHLB offers, take a moment to pray. Ask God for His ‘honey do’ list, knowing that there will be enough time and resources to accomplish His tasks.

With you, joyfully tackling God’s ‘honey do’ list,
Anita