A "Boring" Life

"I'm bored!" Kids these days, that's all they say! I'm glad I don't hear it much too often from my teenager. Looking back to my own teenage years, I don't ever remember being bored. Maybe my memory doesn't serve me right anymore but I honestly don't remember boredom. Although I don't remember parties nor "hang-outs" during my younger years either but still I had a pretty busy life as a teenager. Probably because I grew up in a busy household with six children all growing up almost at the same time? Everyone has to go to school so everyone has to wake up at the same time, use the bathroom (or fight for it, is more like it), dress up and have breakfast, prepare some lunch then get a ride to school, all at the same time. Can you imagine how it was in the mornings? Just one word --lively.

School, homeworks, projects, younger siblings to take care of, helping out in the kitchen and cleaning up the house --these are only few of what kept me to not even consider boredom. Nothing kills boredom fast than a roomful of kids trying to "survive" until the next day when we had to do it all over again. It might seem to you reading this that it was so terrible in our household. On the contrary, it was fun! Maybe stressful at times but so much fun! Tiring, yes, but that's what helped me go to bed and sleep soundly through the night. I feel a little sorry for my son now that he will not get to experience the "happy chaos" of having siblings around. Although I guess, whatever he never experienced he will not miss nor long for.

We also didn't have computers nor video games at that time. I later remembered during my freshman year in high school that we had the newest Game&Watch handheld game, but in my memory, no one was fighting to play it. It was just there, lying around in the house. Yes, we had television and radio, but those were the main source of entertainment for the adults. As for the kids, it was mainly the outdoors --street games, tree-climbing, bikes and scooters, roller skates, dancing in the rain, digging up worms and snails, ruffling birds' nests and stealing some of the tiny eggs, and throwing mud at each other. These, my friends, were what made life exciting for kids of my generation, at least in my world. Not a single minute was wasted indoors sitting behind an electronic devise (well, primarily because as I've mentioned, we didn't have any). 

Boredom. Such a dark word and an even much darker thing to experience. It might not be too serious by itself but it can also be a symptom of something deeper happening within a person. As I got older, I started to have glimpses of this "dark monster," and it's not very pretty. I don't know what brought it on but I started to feel listless about some things. I become restless quite easily after just 5 minutes of sitting down and doing nothing. Maybe it's because I wasn't used to being relaxed for long stretches of time? I was trained to be on my toes all the time since I was a kid. I'm the eldest among my siblings and I had to help out a lot in the house. As I think about it, I really didn't get to "relax" or enjoy even my after-college-days because I got married young. At 23, I already had my son. I guess, busy was my motto in life. Until my son is now grown up, and I've already settled down pretty well in my job, all my "extra-curricular" activities are on schedule and are in place, and my life in general is quite manageable. Then boredom started to creep in.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." -Psalm 1:1-3
God knows that we become victims of boredom and restlessness so easily. He knows us too well that's why He keeps on telling us from the Scriptures to be at peace with Him no matter what our situation is. He wants us to be like trees planted by the river whose roots go so deep that no amount of currents, winds nor storms can uproot us. Have you seen those kinds of trees along bodies of water? They grow so big and so lush that if they were people, they'd look like they are the most content, happy, healthy, and sturdy people we will ever meet. And these are the kinds of trees that produce fruits that are so big, plump, juicy and oh-so sweet. I hope I can be like one of those trees, planted firmly by the Living Waters itself, basking in the "Son," and producing fruits in the Spirit that will glorify God in all His majesty forever.

Maybe, by the world's standards, my life now may seem boring since I don't do a lot of "fun" stuff. I am what you might call a "party pooper" since I don't drink any alcoholic beverages, I don't smoke, I don't party, as some people will define "partying," and I make an effort to stay away from stuff that I know are not pleasing to my God. This may seem a blow-in-the-head kind of boring and in some ways it may even be viewed as a righteous-than-thou kind of lifestyle, but really, it is not. To love the King and the Creator is never boring. And it has never been my intention to rub anything in anybody's face especially so since my only focus is to glorify God with what I do and I don't even do these things for my own self. I do it all for the One who matters the most. My life may seem boring for the world to see as I try to conduct myself according to God's standards but there's one thing I'm completely sure of --I'll be having the greatest time of my eternal life even after everything in this world has passed away.