there's a jet flying over I don't you
can hear the jet but Benny okay there we
go
[Music]
hi my name's father Mike Schmitz and
this is essential presents' so recently
I was talking with a guy who said that
he's very busy he's a college student he
is busy with academics he's he's a he's
an athlete student athlete Church campus
ministries type stuff and he said one of
the things he finds it really difficult
to do and he finds it really difficult
to not be doing something this thing is
almost impossible to not be doing
something if I stop I feel really guilty
like I should be doing something and he
that's what you asked me like what do I
do it's really interesting because there
is an element where that's good that
initiative that kind of like default
let's go let's move let's do something
is really really great I think that's
that's lacking in some people right at
the same time when you can't disengage
when you can't rest then it becomes a
problem so if I'm always default default
to grow or default move default Act
that's wonderful but if I can't then
disengage and say I'm gonna rest now
it's like the difference between
striving and abiding you might be
familiar with sister Miriam and Heather
in Michelle's podcast abiding together
where they talk about that a lot now I
remember I talked with a spoke with one
of our students was asking like I strive
a lot in a different student I strive a
lot but I knew I need to abide more one
is not right and one is not wrong
like striving is not wrong striving is
good in fact Jesus when he's questioned
about it's like how many people would be
many people or a few people entering the
kingdom of heaven Jesus's answer is it
strive strive to enter at the narrow
gate so we're called to strive at the
same time we're also called to abide
Jesus says remain in me so abide in me
rest in me
we're called to both strive and abide
the big question is gonna be when and
how to questions I guess so
going back to this young man who is
saying like I just can't ever disengage
you can't I've arrest what should I do
well one is it could be possible that
his busyness and maybe over desiring
being productive is that is that doesn't
mean being desirous of being productive
it masks over the reality that he hasn't
figured out what he should be doing a
lot of times when we're when we're
overly busy when we're just always
moving on to the next thing
the next thing the next thing it's
because we haven't actually asked the
Lord God what do you want me to do and
we haven't actually decided this is the
priority this is actually the vision for
my life and so I just have to be super
busy that's the default default is just
striving and it's always doing the next
thing and I can't rest because I'm never
done because there's always gonna be a
next thing unless I have a particular
vision for my life in which case then I
can say I'm doing these things but not
those things in fact more than 50
percent maybe up to 80 or 90 percent of
having a vision for one's life is
knowing what it's not gonna be about but
I don't have to be doing Steve Jobs has
said that um excellence really is
defined by the thousands of nose that
paved the way for the one important yes
so here's this student-athlete who works
and is very busy he says a lot of yeses
there's a lot of yeses - a lot of
opportunities and that can be driven
from a lot of things we driven from FOMO
like fear of missing out like I say yes
to all these things it can be driven
from a desired if I accomplish if I
achieve that I'm somebody I define
myself by my accomplishments or my
achievements that's what I desire to be
needed
like when I when I say yes that people
need me it's there to be liked when I
say yes people like me not driven by I
have a clear vision for what I should be
doing in a very clear vision of what I
should not be doing the first thing I
have to say after asked myself is if I
find myself unable to rest it's do I
have a clear vision of what rest looks
like to have a clear vision of what work
looks like I have a clear vision or a
cooler reason why I'm saying yes and why
I'm saying no because if I don't have
that clear vision then I'll never I'll
never be done I remember uh for a summer
I spent in a parish assignment right and
this parish was it was great it was good
to be in this assignment but they never
told me what I'm supposed to be doing
like the entire almost the entire summer
I always ever to astok so father what do
you explain exactly am I here for what
do you I don't - no we'll figure it out
what figured I'll just kind of be around
so there was never a time when it was
clear that I was on so there was never
time that I was ever clear that I was
off and so I found myself being
exhausted and I was exhausted not
because the work was so difficult but
because it was like I I can never I'm
never did
engaged I'm always slightly engaged
because there's no clear vision of what
the work was so I had no clear vision of
what the rest would look like so for
this young man and for all of us here
what does striving look like like what
am I supposed to be striving after in
this moment because I have to decide
that it asks off to the side where I'm
not gonna strive after that's me very
clear okay number one I've been also
abiding when where and how could I find
rest meaning I have to working out
because this is important to do but
right now there's other time when this
is not the work at the moment this is
the moment of rest this is the work of
the moment is actually to rest the work
at the moment is to celebrate
achievement the work at the moment is to
be at peace that's when we're where do
you go to find your rest some people
they go to find the rest by still being
productive they go to the rest to find
rest by going out and neck you know
collecting raising bees right or
gardening or doing any number of like
hobby type things and that gives them
rest that's wonderful that's not how I
pine rest eivin rest by resting but when
where you find rest and again how do you
find that rest you enter into it by by
abandoning your projects by abandoning
striving or do you enter into it by
saying no this is intentional them work
at the moment right now is for me to be
at peace that right now I don't have to
be productive there right now I get to
simply be and not have to do that's
gonna be really really key so when I was
down there and this in this parish and I
wasn't able to ever rest it wasn't
because there weren't opportunities to
rest it was because I couldn't identify
those opportunities to rest so I was
always striving never abiding you might
have the case that in in the course of
any given hour you know be called to
strive here and abide here we called to
strive over there and then abide over
there so it's not like a oh this day
this week this month is abiding day week
month it could simply be I recognize
this is a moment where I'm just called
to simply be okay this is my what we're
on I'm called to do to act to move but
to know that difference by being able to
ask the Lord okay Lord what is your
vision from you
right now what is it you want me to do
what should I be saying no to because
again I'm clear on what I say no to my
yeses are absolutely crystal clear and
they have boundaries they have a
definitive beginning and ending last
thing quick I mentioned the difference
between striving and abiding yes
the great news is that when you are you
know what you're striving after the
right thing this is actually the work at
the moment this is truly one also to be
doing whether that's doing or being you
get to abide in that as well you get to
rest in the fact that you know what I'm
doing is I'm doing because this is what
the Lord is asking me right now that
this honors the Lord the most right now
so I don't have to be doing anything
else one of the things that one of the
things that wears us down and grinds us
down is that sense of like should I be
here or should it be something else am i
doing this Who am I doing it for
or am i doing it for an audience of one
the Lord Himself am i doing it who are
other people can give me some some
praise some affirmation but to be able
to say no I'm doing this for the Lord
sure it hopefully helps other people
maybe it helps myself if it helps
whatever maybe no one maybe goes unknown
unnoticed unseen but I can strive after
this task because it's the it's the
thing I should be doing right now and
because of that even in my striving I'm
abiding I'm not worried about what other
people think I'm not worried about how
is it received they're not worried even
about the success or failure of it I
just know that in this moment I can
strive after this task pursue this thing
with my whole heart because I'm doing it
with my whole heart for the Lord because
of that even in great busyness you can
abide and in great rest you can abide
anyways that's what I think for almost
here dissension presents - brother Mike
god bless
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