I'm pretty sure we all have them... stacks. Stacks of unfinished projects and to do lists. Looming, lurking around some dark corner in our homes. We know they are there. We may even desire daily to get to one of them, but reality is we often don't. Maybe your stack is in the corner of your bedroom, like mine is. On the kitchen table, reminding you every time the dinner bell rings. Or maybe there are various stacks scattered in multiple places throughout your home. I once knew a lady who had her entire spare bedroom dedicated for just such projects and to do's.These are projects we possibly set aside to be done at a later time.
Some items on my to do list include scrap-booking, I think I last did so when my oldest was in fourth grade. He is now a junior in highschool. My list continues... things to sell on ebay , mind you I still do not have an eBay account. Start an herb garden with my daughter. Getting a few chickens to raise with my son. Organize a months worth of meals so I don't worry about what we're gonna eat when I cannot make a grocery list. Trust me the list goes on.The stacks are there too! Homeschool books, pictures and clothes that I keep thinking, " Gosh one day I just might wear that !"
I also have bigger lists and goals that I hope to finish one day. Writing a book, getting my nursing degree, learning to fight, so I can defend myself and be crowned " Small town girl, turns toughest fighting momma!".( Laughable , I know !) Paying off larger bills so we can have less debt, etc... These are all lists, to do's and stacks of things that can wait. Some of them are more urgent then others ofcourse. I am plugging away at some of these things so I can put a check mark next to a few. But in this busy life, I am trying to prioritize the urgent .
I am thankful I have goals, ideas, plans and to do's. Sometimes I get discouraged on their slow progress. However, there are certain things in my life and home that I must prioritize. Things that cannot wait. Things that if I do not pursue , will be gone. They cannot be placed on a shelf for a later date, or stacked in a nice ( or not so nice) pile in the corner of some room. They are things that are here for awhile. These are moments I must prioritize because I cannot put them off for a later date. I have to invest, build, take time for and develop, NOW!
My marriage and my kids are examples of priorities that cannot wait. Saying " I love you", praying for, investing my time in, building upon and encouraging cannot wait for some later time. What I have is now and I hope I sense the urgent. Looking through stacks of photos proves how fast time has gone and how quick it continues to fly by. The time is precious. I cannot put them on a list or stack them up among all my other projects. I intentionally need to pull them out and set them aside from the other lists and get busy investing..
As the clock is ticking, as projects get done and others left undone, I hope I am learning to prioritize. But in all my prioritizing I do not want my relationship with the Lord to fall at the wayside.Often it gets stuck on a list, and that is one place it never belongs.
This morning in my devotions this verse put a fresh priority on the importance of Him in our lives.
Psalms 62:1 "O God, You are my God, Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, My flesh longs for You. in a dry and thirsty land. Where there is no water."
Early will I seek you. It may be that David meant in the early morning. Yet this resounded with me, Early. Now, before problems arise, before time goes by and things happen and time is gone, Early- priority- now. The dictionary describes it as - happening or done before the usual or expected time. That is prioritization !Seeking Him should be number one before any other project. Just like I cannot get back the years with my kids, or those years in my marriage that I didn't make time for. I also cannot replace the time spent with the Lord. This priority time
establishes me
molds me
equips me
changes me grounds me
renews me
teaches me ABOUT HIM !
In Real Life ...It is the NUMBER ONE PROJECT that cannot wait !
