Hustle & Grind

I keep seeing these words lately. I’m seeing and hearing, so many people, posting, reading, studying and talking about this, as they try and figure out their lives, their futures, their now. It is the new chatter. It has even made itself present in devotionals, daily quotes, and in all sorts of different magazines.

In an article in Forbes magazine they are debating over which one is best …. to Hustle or to grind. Here is a quote from the article:
“Someone who is a grinder can work tirelessly and see no return. Their sense of fulfillment is found in the chaos of moving at a fast pace, juggling multiple tasks, or simply being busy. However, someone who is a hustler makes sure every effort reaps a valuable return on investment. Grinders desperately seek opportunity. If a slot opens, they step in without hesitation for the purposing of proving their worth to others. Hustlers put effort into existing opportunities to build on their vision and create additional opportunities with the value they already know they have.” Either way, whether someone is a hustler or a grinder, they are both moving at a fast pace, extremely focused and busy, and all about building something that will put them on a wheel that may never stop. While none of these attributes are dangerous in their own, if fueled by the wrong motive and not kept in balance, the combination of them can be dangerous to that person and to others.

As I have pondered these two words recently, for some reason, neither resonate rightly in my spirit. There’s just something about them that fills me with a bit of sadness and a whole lot of concern – especially when I see those who are husbands, fathers, wives, mothers clinging to them. It’s like a work-a-holic’s permission slip to jump in the rat race and justify their absence from the things that really matter and the people who are counting on them. It’s the two thumbs-up for the person who is labeled with the personality type of being a “go-getter”, the achiever, the intense visionary, and keeps them striving for more no matter what, with the excuse of “this is who I am”.

Blame it on my age, yes I am on the “back-nine” of life, or my own experiences in life with the hustle and grind, but I feel it goes even deeper than that, and that the nudge (or maybe cringe) that I feel each time I read those words, is actually a still small voice that is not my own saying “BEWARE”. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for great work ethics, being disciplined and committed, and sadly have seen this dwindle over the past years, with both the younger and older generations. People do less and expect someone else to do the rest …. Well I want to say “if you do less, expect a mess!” So yes, I do believe that there are times that we need to go the extra mile, say yes to something that possibly will call for a little more time, effort, and energy than we had planned on giving. There are those times, I prefer to call them mini-seasons, when we may need to stay out a little later, work a bit harder, give up or even sacrifice some of our own plans, desires, and more, in order to start something, pour into a task or meet a need. BUT, and that’s a big but, the motive behind the hustle, and the length or time period of the grind, both must be constantly evaluated and can only last so long. Just like God created the seasons to come and go, to begin and to end, and the tides to ebb and flow, He also created us to have limitations and life-seasons. We are created to pay attention, listen to Him and not miss the warning signs when we start to get out of balance.

What starts out as just an occasional time of being super busy, can so subtly become a life-norm. One project leads to another, one late night leads to many, one “just this once” leads to more like months, and before you know it, you’re captured. Entangled. Ensnared. Exhausted. You are on the Hustle & Grind train and the only toll that is being paid, is the toll on your relationships …. First, your relationship with God, then with your spouse or family, and then with friends (unless they are on that same train) and even the relationship with yourself. You know that one where you should be listening to your body, paying attention to your heart, taking hints from your lack of or limited focus that affects your emotion and sends your mind whirring a hundred miles an hour, never able to a stop. That train, the “Hustle & Grind” train, is like a high-powered, locomotive that is on a run away track, and the only one who can pull the brakes is you.

Currently I am sitting in a coffee shop, sipping some sage and mint tea, and evaluating my own life. Where do I find my value? Do I only feel valued if I am serving and working? How much of my identity is falsely secured in what I do? How much time have I wasted doing a whole bunch of GOOD things instead of only the GOD things? How many times have I said YES to someone, solely based on pleasing them, not wanting to offend them, wanting them to say good job and appreciate me? Am I able to actually say NO? Is all of this what fuels and drives that hustle and grind train? Oh how often I have found myself riding on those tracks, at first enjoying every moment, feeling great, purposeful, appreciated, even powerful, as it picked up speed with more and more being asked of me. What an honor! They asked “ME” to do that, to serve, to be in charge, to run the program, to create the event, to plan and prepare, to lead, to be on the team, to stand on that stage. I got on the train with so much contentment, and gusto, but after a while, instead of getting off at the 3rd or 4th stop which was where God was saying “this is the end of the line. It’s time to get off”, I stayed on. Just a few more miles, maybe a few more stops and then I’ll get off. But there went each depot, flying by as I looked out of the windows, and suddenly I felt like there may be no stopping the train ever. Do I jump? Peering at my ticket, I realize that my stop, the one God had actually designed for me to get off at, was several stations back.

Years ago I really did find myself in just this predicament and it had taken a toll on me. My relationship with the Lord, my relationship with my husband which affected oI pulled that brake cord and the train came to an abrupt halt. And there I was, staring at my stop, wondering if just BEING was enough. I realized in that moment that God was enough. I realized over a period of time that I was enough just as a woman, a mom, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a human being. God valued me. I learned to say no, and I still said yes, but this time with limits and boundaries and my identity secured in God. As I found that delicate balance of serving God, working, loving my husband, being a mom, investing in relationships, growing in the Lord, ministering to others, I was able to stay in the rhythm that God had for my life. It meant letting go of some of the things I actually loved to do. It meant letting others do the jobs that I was good at and might have done differently. It really involves laying down my own agenda and allowing the Lord to kill my pride. But it was all worth letting go of because God’s rhythm was so much sweeter, so much freer, and even more purposeful, fulfilling, and meaningful than all of the years that I had gotten caught up on the hustle and grind locomotive.

And so I know that it can be done. We can pull that cord that puts on the brakes of the hustle and grind train. We can get off at the stop that God has designed for us. We can pay attention to His voice and hear Him when he blows that whistle to say “all aboard” or “next stop”. We can learn to be led by Him and say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to what is being asked of us, without any shame, without any manipulation, without becoming lazy and idle, without any confusion, without guilt. We can have our identity so secure in Him that we are true God pleasers instead of being self or people pleasers. We can find the rhythm that beats along with His heart for each of our lives. Just listen. Maybe it’s time to pull the brakes. Maybe it’s time to let the train pass you by. Maybe it’s time to jump on board, but only for a season. Check that ticket. Don’t miss the depot. You don’t have to be driven by anything but the Lord.