Yesterday I drank 34 ounces of coffee. By the last gulp, I was edgy. You know the type of unstable energy you get when you’ve consumed too much caffeine but not enough sleep to balance it?

Lately life has been hectic. You know the type of frantic living that comes from raising three young kids, one of whom is being homeschooled, managing two businesses, one of which you’re trying to grow, all on top of life as usual?

I could be sitting in a quiet room, but the static in my mind is overwhelming.

I don’t do well sitting still. I’ve joked that I have a constant nervous energy running through me. As if I’m connected to a steady drip of caffeine. This is my default. And if I’m not careful it becomes too much. 

I go through seasons of this. Life gets crazy and as a result, priorities are neglected. My hours of sleep become fewer and the quality becomes less. My morning reading is rushed and my meditation is forgone. 

The result: my coffee consumption increases, my focus suffers, my complexion harkens back to the days of junior high, and I develop a twitch in my left shoulder. They’re strange symptoms indeed. But these are the symptoms of a clouded mind.

So what’s the remedy for such a mallady?

Stillness in both my mind and spirit (Psalm 46:10). It’s the proactive action of taking inventory of my priorities. During states of cloudiness, my priorities seem to melt into each other.

This makes way for peaceful rest (Isaiah 26:3). And as any thinker will tell you, contemplation is best done on a full night’s rest. Once these two things occur, chaos flows into order, frenetic thinking becomes clear, the clouds dissipate and a clear mind returns.