Are We Too Busy For God?
Are we too busy for God?
This article is about how God met one woman in the middle of the mess. No quiet time required.
Written by Kia Gutierrez
Teaching my kids to clean their rooms is probably one of my least favorite parenting missions. When my first child was little, I didn’t realize just how much I disliked it. I hadn’t yet developed the strategies I now use to make it more bearable. Like many overwhelming tasks, this one brought out my worst. I was teaching my then five-year-old daughter how to pick up her toys, and I was on the verge of losing my mind.
She seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace—one tiny toy at a time from the floor to the toy box—even with my help. I felt that familiar whirring wheel in my chest, trying to pull us forward to the next thing, but it felt like we were stuck in the mud, going nowhere. “Hurry up,” I thought. “Hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up!”
Then, for some reason—on what must have been the 47th time we’d ended up in this exact same power struggle—God broke through my mental noise with a clear, quiet interruption. That usually only happens when I’ve missed the message a dozen other ways
“Where are you in a hurry to get to?”
The question landed like a brake pedal pressed against my spiraling thoughts.
What’s the Rush?
Right there on the floor surrounded by Barbies, books, countless stuffies, a confusing mix of dirty and clean laundry, and a few sticks and leaves—sacred treasures my daughter had gathered from the backyard, now crumbling into dust on her rug. Sitting there, I considered His question: Where was I rushing to?
My first instinct was to name the next task: make dinner, switch the laundry, start nap time. Something urgent like that. But in that pause, I realized—none of those things were actually urgent. I was a full-time stay-at-home mom. My mission was to raise my children. The chores were tools to help me do that, not the mission itself.
In my frustration, I had been rushing away from one of the most important things I could do that day: being present with my daughter. Slowing down to train her—really train her—to steward her space and take ownership of it. That was the mission. But I’d forgotten.
To the Worn Out Momma: Mom Guilt and Jesus
What We Are Rushing Toward
Still, something deeper tugged at me. It wasn’t just dinner or laundry I was rushing toward. It was something bigger. Some elusive thing that felt more important—like a calling, a job, a contribution that would matter in the world. Or maybe it was just the desire to feel like I mattered. Like what I was doing mattered.
At this point, my daughter had completely stopped cleaning. Without my constant prompts, she’d drifted into a world of imagination. The mess of her room became a stage for wonder and magic. Her toys had come to life. The powers of the world—represented by princesses and ponies—were now her friends.
And in that moment, the Holy Spirit whispered again:
“This is changing the world. Being here. Raising her. Talking to Me in the middle of the mess. This is the place to rush toward. To long for. To strive to get to. You don’t need to hurry anywhere else, because what your soul longs for is accessible right here, right now.”
Are We Too Busy for God?
That rushing feeling—that relentless need to move on to the next thing, hold it all together, stay productive—it tricks us into believing we don’t have time for God. That spending time with Him is just another task, another person we’re supposed to take care of. And if we don’t, we’ve failed. We’re less than.
Less than what?
Less than the invisible standard we’ve created to measure our worth.
Like never losing our patience when teaching our children to clean.
Because that’s what good moms do. The worthy ones.
Lies I have Believed About Being a Mom
In the Middle of the Mess
But God is not another person needing our care. He is God. He doesn’t require a church service or a quiet corner with sunlit journaling and a steaming cup of coffee beside a perfectly highlighted Bible. Those are things we built—places where we’ve learned to expect Him. And that’s fine, but it’s not where He has to show up.
Gentle Reminder=> Your mess doesn’t scare God, and your presence matters more than your pace. Share on XGod isn’t limited by our order or systems. He’s the Savior of the world. He specializes in chaos, in brokenness, in mess. He meets us in the rooms we’re trying to clean, in the moments we feel like we’re falling apart, in the middle of dirty dishes and toddler meltdowns. And He’s not offended. He delights to meet us there.
We honor Him not by being perfect, but by noticing His presence in the middle of the mess. By pausing—just for a moment—and receiving the reminder that He loves us completely. That we are enough, not because we’ve earned it, but because He made us.
Kids can find wonder anywhere. They discover magic at the laundromat or in a pile of junk mail. We can find God the same way. We can hear His voice, meditate on His words, and spend time with Him anywhere.
I’m pretty sure I ended up picking up my daughter’s room by myself that day. Because the mission—for that moment—had been accomplished. Not in her heart, but in mine.
Reflection Questions
- What is your relationship with “hurry”? Where does it show up most in your day?
- When was the last time you paused to ask, “Where am I in a hurry to get to?” What did you notice?
- Are there moments in your daily routine where God might be inviting you to notice His presence?
- What invisible standards are you measuring yourself against right now? Are they from God—or from somewhere else?
- How might you begin to honor God in the mess instead of waiting until after it’s cleaned up?
Scripture Reflection
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10a NIV
This verse isn’t about inactivity—it’s about reorienting our hearts. Stillness is an act of trust. It’s a surrender of the need to rush, and an invitation to recognize that God is present and powerful, especially in the mess.
Join the Conversation
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Meet Kia
Kia Gutierrez is a marriage and family therapist with a passion for helping couples navigate the challenges of marriage through emotional intelligence and faith. Drawing from her professional expertise, personal experience as a wife and mother, and her background as a missionary, Kia brings a trauma-informed perspective to her work. She encourages couples to grow through difficult seasons with Jesus at the center, fostering communication, understanding, and healing in relationships. Kia empowers couples to be married well—even when it’s tough—building stronger, more resilient partnerships that can weather any storm.
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