Managing the Busyness

Hi all, my name is Zach Wadley. I graduated from AU in May 2014 and am now doing a graduate assistantship at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. I work with the soccer and softball teams as the media contact, which involves broadcasting, writing articles, managing the website, doing a weekly radio show and working various other sporting events on campus. I also go to class three nights a week while working towards a degree in sports management and I’m planning a wedding with my beautiful fiancé Natalie Schuchardt.

I’m busy.

It’s a lot to juggle and I know you are all busy too. This is the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also the busiest. You have papers to write, finals to prepare for and projects to finish. All the while, you have the holidays occupying your thoughts and you want to be doing anything but school at the moment.

We’re certainly all busy. However, I never appreciate when people complain about being busy because we are all busy. We all have a million things to do and a few weeks to get them all done. When that happens, we often cut things out of our life so that we have time to accomplish all that needs to be done.

Although I hate to admit it, one thing I always find myself skimping on is my time with Christ. Amid all that I have to do, I cut out the one thing that is most important in my life because “I don’t have time.” For whatever reason it becomes very hard to find five minutes to sit down and read a chapter of the Bible, say a prayer and maybe even journal a few thoughts. I’m unsure of why that is.

During the times that I am busy and I do devote time to Christ each day, I find the tasks to be much more manageable. That’s one thing I feel that I have improved on this year. Sometimes the best thing you can do when busy is to stop, take a deep breath, read a few comforting verses of the Bible and say a prayer. And I mean really stop.

There have been multiple times where I have gotten up from my desk, walked outside, sat on a bench and did not think about work, but devoted time to my relationship with Christ instead. The comfort that comes from knowing its all going to be okay or knowing that there are bigger things in this life than work can not be explained – it can only be felt.

I firmly believe that being busy can be a tool used by the devil. It can draw us away from the one thing that’s most important in our lives and that’s exactly what he wants. Don’t let him have that victory. Make time everyday for your relationship with Christ. No matter how busy you are, there is always time. I’m not telling you that you need to spend an hour everyday. But everyone has 15 minutes per day that they could – and should – spend with Jesus.

Zach and the Smith Hall staff, 2012-2013.

So this week, as the busyness mounts, slow down and make sure you’re making time for God. He can ease the pressure, calm the waters and bring you peace. You will be glad that you did.

Zach Wadley

Smith Hall RA, 2011-2013

Fair Commons RA, 2013-14