There are some days that I wonder what our culture is doing to us. The other day was one of those days.

I was having lunch with a man from my church. He has four kids, three of which are teenagers. None of them are involved in a ridiculous amount of extra-curricular activities, but their lives are still chaotic. They’re involved in a sport that requires early mornings, extensive travel, and a large chunk of time. Their story is not unique, nor is the sport that takes up a HUGE chunk of their time.

The unfortunate byproduct of their lives the way they are now is that they have very little margin left. Almost of their time is devoted to going. Going to and from school, sports, work, internships, jobs, and . . . church.

One of the things that I love about this family is that they are devoted to their faith and the church. It’s rare that they miss a Sunday. But because of the pace of life that has been thrust upon them they’re not able to connect with others in the church at the level they want and need. And since they can’t connect the pace of life takes a harder toll on them and creates more stress. It’s a vicious cycle.

They seem to be victims of our culture’s crazy pace of life. They’re busy living life, but don’t feel fully alive.

Where do you see this happening in your life? I the lives of those around you? Is there anything that we can do to combat this?

Image by flickr user Éole