Even in the busyness, God is speaking

By Megan Lacourrege

My husband and I are in the habit of daily praying evening prayer from Liturgy of the Hours. This form of prayer cycles through the same Psalms in the course of a few weeks.

One we pray over and again is Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builder’s labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over a city, its watchmen guard it in vain. It is vain for you to get up early and go late to your rest, eating the bread of toil. To those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.”

Each time I read these words, I am reminded how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life: jobs, chores, children and more. I’ve been guilty of writing an (unrealistically) ambitious to-do list and then becoming frustrated when I can’t complete it all in a day. I’ve also felt the need to push myself to complete tasks that I am not physically, mentally or spiritually in a place to tackle.

Psalm 127 reminds me that God is not a taskmaster. He wants to help us even in the most mundane aspects of our lives. After so many failures trying to do things my way, I’ve found a simple way to invite God into my work.

Before diving into a task, I pray and wait for God’s voice to let me know what, when and how to do it. It is not a booming voice with detailed instructions. Rather, it’s a “still, small voice” that gives my heart peace and inspiration.

I don’t accomplish things as fast as I’d like when I give God the deference. However, when I do accomplish them, it is far smoother and not at all frantic. Most importantly, I’m able to focus on doing things lovingly, which should be the primary goal of anything we do in this life.