Do you ever feel like the day just got away from you? Its the end of the day, but you have to make sense of the chaotic covers on the bed you never got a chance to make that morning. The to-do list is looming over your head, with hardly as many check marks as you’d hoped for. Your stomach is growling because, whoops, you forgot to eat dinner. Yet you know for a fact you did not spend your whole day twiddling your thumbs, right?
When I come to the end of my day, the time to clock out and let God be sovereign as I become unconscious, I like to have that feeling of accomplishment. That my day counted in a way that honors God, serves my family and community, and fulfills me, sanctifies me, and satisfies me. Unfortunately, that feeling is rare.
Proverbs gives an example of a woman who has such a confidence:
She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.Proverbs 31:17-21
I believe this woman experienced confidence in her work and home life because she prioritized the important. So many of us can’t prioritize room or time for the important things in our life because we are busy attending to the immediate. You know what I’m talking about:
The important isn’t always a “big” thing either. I think distraction of the immediate also leads to disobedience to God in the little things. too. “Miraculous power comes through mundane faithfulness,” is a quote that has deeply impacted my life this year. As I read the Bible, I realize that most stories focus on the epic moments in a person’s life, not the mundane faithfulness that led to those moments. If I am going to honor God with my everyday life, I must learn to live between the lines of epic.
It’s not just about going through the motions; its about knowing God through the motions. Reprioritizing the important provides that sense of accomplishment and fulfillment I crave. All I did today was crawl on the floor wrestling my babies. I sang and spoke and rhymed colors and shapes like a broken record as they completely ignored me (or so it seemed). I tucked them into bed, praying for God to grow them into a strong man of honor and a graceful woman of compassion.
THESE MOMENTS are my “important.” They are important because God says so, and because they are fleeting. I didn’t publish a book, write a non-profit grant, or design an anti-cancer drug. Those important things are for someone else or some other time.
I don’t want to ignore the power, the adventure of every day living. I don’t want to humdrum through each day waiting for the weekend. I don’t want to surrender significance in exchange for survival. I want to reprioritize the important.
Will you join me?
Week 5 Challenge:
- Monday: Take inventory of the important things in your life. Put the list on your fridge/bathroom mirror and commit to prioritize these things. Post a picture of your list on instagram with #reprioritizingtheimportant and #5weekrefocuschallenge
- Tuesday: Figure out what immediate things tend to steal your attention from the important (these might be similar to time-wasters). Set a strategy to ignore them.
- Wednesday: Check back for the next post.
Check in:
What is one important thing you want to reprioritize in your life?