how much is too much?

Moderation.

We all know what it means. It's all about balance. We hear it a lot used in the context, "Do (activity) in moderation. Water the plant in moderation or else it will drown. Eat desserts in moderation or expect obesity. Study hard in moderation because a social life is a necessity.

Before college, I thought I had moderation down to the tee. Or in other words, my routine, in which I would go insane if it were ever disorganized. Here's a little glimpse of what my week would look like my senior year:

-Monday-Friday: go to school, come home and relax until work, work, homework, bed, repeat
-Saturday: sometimes work, but mostly my night for friends
-Sunday: church, God, family

Yep, I thought I had it all figured out. I mean, I'm making time for faith, family, friends and making some money too, I thought.

"Everything in moderation." That's such a silly phrase. A couple of months ago, my Rock pastor presented a visual, demonstrating how we should prioritze God in our lives. He started with a jar and on the side had some big rocks and a bucket of sand. He started by putting the sand (the busyness in our lives) in first and then the big rocks. You can guess that the rocks didn't fit. So then he put the big rocks in first (God, the important things) followed by the sand. I'll let you draw your own conclusions there.

Looking back, I know I wasn't trying to undervalue by relationship with God. But now to think that I made more time for salad tossing than time with God makes me experience feelings of shame. I don't regret it though; Valuable lesson are learned when I'm wrong.

So, somewhere along the way of shame to realization, time spent with God outnumbered anything else in my life. I have The Rock to give credit to for that. Here's a glimpse of what my freshman year of college looked like:

-Monday: life group (you're grouped with a few people from your community group of your same gender to meet weekly and "do life together"), Monday Night Worship (students from campus ministries get together to sing worship songs for a solid hour..IT'S AWESOME)
-Thursday: meeting with your community group to do bible study
-Friday: usually hanging out with community group (no, they are not Jesus, but the light that all of them carry with them is beautiful and encouraging in my own walk)
-Sunday: church!

That is a lot of Jesus. And that is a lot of time. It intimidated me, sometimes it drained me, but I always came back for more. 

Since I have been home for break, I feel as if the time I go by here is more than what I did at school. I HAVE SO MUCH OF IT. The other day, (actually twice now) I played Wii by myself. That's sheer boredom, but I am successfully on the path to saving Princess Peach. Other than that, I have been doing meaningful activities. Since the New Year year, I too made resolutions of my own. My two major ones are trying to stick with a plan for reading the Bible in a year and doing a 365-devotional with one of my best friends, Kim. I'm going to be completely honest when I say that rarely did I open the Bible for leisurely reading (not searching for a verse). And I've never stuck with a devotional before. So, after I completed day 4 today, I was spending time with my other best friend, Lauren. She had to go into the Family Christian Bookstore and I knew I was doomed. I always spend money on books, journals, Jesus things. As I was in there, we made the decision that we would do our 365-devotional and hold each other accountable. As I was roaming through my options, it was then when I asked myself, "Do I have time for this? How much is too much?"

MY FRIENDS ARE AWESOME.

My Faith pastor once said, "If you're too busy for God, you're too busy."

Do I have time for this? Lightbulb. That question I asked myself soon became I will find time for this. 

You see, there is no such thing as moderation when it comes to God. As C.S. Lewis said: "Why do I make room in my mind for such filth and nonsense." Everything in moderation? No. Some things in moderation. God always.

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5:15-17

So, when I asked myself, "How much is too much?" I answered my own question: There is no such thing.