Ambitious quiet life
“I have to sit down and write.”
The thought crossed my mind a hundred times during the week. Write a blog post. Write a chapter. Write a couple of letters. Write a few early Christmas cards.
But the girls were home. All day, every day. School was out for the week of Thanksgiving, and my chances of productive writing were slim to none.
I closed my laptop and moved it into the laundry room. Out of sight, but not out of mind. Yet as I wrestled with my thoughts, trying to push past a serious case of writer’s block, one verse replayed in my mind.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders...”. – 1Thessalonians 4:11-12
I spent the week taking Paul’s advice. My children raced through my house with their cousins, fueled by a trail of toys and their imaginations, while I sat on the couch and enjoyed conversation with visiting family members. I cleaned my home in preparation to host a meal with those nearest and dearest to my heart. In the evenings, we snuggled under blankets and watched movies. We created new memories, decorated for the holidays, and enjoyed our days together.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned – the internet will always be there. But my family is changing daily, and I don’t want to regret throwing all my ambition to an endless algorithm that will soon forget me rather than directing it towards the precious group of people God has specifically entrusted to me.
Scripture’s recommended quiet life and the American dream don’t align. I’m learning that more and more with each passing year. And while I can hustle and bustle and push and grind, my soul finds peace and rest when I intentionally nurture and pursue what is actually before me rather than chasing after an insatiable idea that has yet to be.
And maybe you need that reminder, too. That an intentional effort to live according to the wisdom of God’s word is not wasted. Rather, it is fruitful.
I could’ve done a hundred things over the week, but I don’t regret how I spent it. Because today, as my children are back in school, I am at home. And the internet is still here. And so is my computer – right where I left her.
But the lesson is magnified. A reminder that ambition, which is a great gift from God, needs to be harnessed and directed correctly. Focused where it matters.
Not just today.
Every day.
