By Syrone Harvey

I’m a multi-tasker but not just your ordinary, ‘walk and chew gum at the same time’ variety. As my kids would say, I have mad, multi-tasking skills. For example, the other day, as I was talking on the phone with my sister, baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies, sorting a load of laundry, downloading a ton of email, I was also catching up on a Tivo’d episode of Grey’s Anatomy, (my fave) oh, AND snacking on tortilla chips with Tapatio sauce. Talented? Not hardly. Frazzled? More than likely. Stressed? Ding, ding ding…Absolutely. I’d bitten off more than I could chew but for some reason I get a weird kind of charge taking on multiple tasks at the same time.

Unfortunately, since it’s physically impossible to split myself 6 different ways, I come up short and fail to give 100% to each individual task.
With Christmas just a few weeks away my ability to balance and juggle will definitely be challenged. By the time the Christmas tree has been hauled to the curb and the decorations packed away for another year, I will have accomplished…exhaustion. Now, if exhaustion were my ultimate goal, then I guess I’d qualify as a champion, except exhaustion isn’t exactly the type of award you want to boast about. In the end I’m left feeling gypped that I didn’t get to enjoy the full experience of doing things one at a time.

When I thought about my talent for multi-tasking, I began to realize all the other times I’d fallen prey to the multi-tasking bug without realizing it; all the times I’d put lipstick on while driving, changed the radio station, munched out…when I was supposed to stay focused on the road. Then, I thought about all the times when I attempted to spend time alone with the Lord. How many times had I juggled a to-do list during prayer time when it was supposed to be “one on one” time with my Heavenly Father? Too many times to count. I had great intentions but sometimes it was hard not to be distracted.

In fact, one Sunday, during praise and worship, I spotted a lady sitting two rows away and noted how cute her outfit was. My brain started spinning… “Now which store did I see a dress like that? That’s right, Macy’s. Hmmm, I wonder if I should stop by Macy’s after service…” Oops…back to praise and worship. (Okay, you KNOW exactly what I’m talking about. Some of you might be able to relate.) I imagine the Lord patiently saying, “Okay, any time now…Think about shopping on your own time. This is MY time; our time.”

He is worthy of my full, undivided and undistracted attention, not someone in lala land or caught up in the busyness of “stuff.” Sometimes multi-tasking is unavoidable but I purposely need to be about my Father’s business. Even though He honors the works of our hands I believe it’s when we’re focused solely on one thing at a time. In order to cherish my sacred time alone, I need to recognize that the true priority of each day is to savor every moment, every task and single opportunity as if this task is being done specifically for Him. It’s like the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One tasty, little bite at a time.”