Priorities

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you LOVE. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good Morning' at total strangers."
-Maya Angelou

I've talked about my priorities: God, husband, child, others, and lastly self. That makes sense in theory. But it's not so easily put into practice, at least by me...

I'm guilty of worrying about what others think. Of putting my best foot forward for people I don't know to try to make a good impression, but letting my family see the worst side of me since they "have" to love me.

And I find it far easier to talk on the phone to someone I don't know and probably will never meet than to call my own family.

Now it may be true that your loved ones treat you in a way a stranger would never dare to - with a lack of respect or harsh word. But are you guilty of the same thing?

I've learned the hard way that no one "has" to love you. If you spend all your energy - putting all your priorities - on others outside the family, you may lose the ones you love.

My own challenge - and yours, too, should you choose to accept - is not to take love for granted, but to treat those I love with the highest honors...

The Questions

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised." Proverbs 31:30

Life is so busy. There is no way possible to do everything I want to do. So my biggest challenge is prioritization. What things should I focus on? I know my priorities are God, husband, children, and others, in that order. But it's not always so clear how to best serve those priorities.

There are a number of questions I've asked God in the past to try to sort things out:

• How can I make a difference?
• How can I have the biggest impact?
• What is Your purpose for my life?
• What is the value in what I am doing?

But I've come to realize that these are not the questions we are to ask. It may not be for us to understand God's purpose in our lifetime.

Instead, I'm learning to ask:

• What are You calling me to do right now?
• Who are You calling me to be right now?
• Where do You want me right now?

These questions He can and will answer if I open my ears.

But when I try to RATIONALIZE the calling - what He is asking me to do - it all falls apart, and I'm left with nothing.

Meaningless. Everything is meaningless. Like chasing the wind.

I look at the challenge to me in Proverbs 31, and I realize it's impossible. No matter how much I prioritize and juggle my life, I will never get there.

Yet that's not a reason to give up.

"He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

I want to do wonderful things. I want to make a difference in life. I want to stand tall for God, husband, child, and others. That desire was planted in me. But I cannot see the whole scope in this lifetime. It IS beyond me.

And it's OK.

Because Proverbs 31 is summed up in the end: "a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised." God's purpose is simple. "God's purpose is that people should fear him." Ecclesiastes 3:14

The answer to all that prioritization and juggling dilemma is simple. It's found, not in our accomplishments for God, but in our relationship with God.

So I purpose today to enjoy the moments. Striving to be the Proverbs 31 woman - each moment. Striving for God-defined greatness - each moment. With God - each moment. Enjoy life now. Because it comes from God's hand. He didn't create life to madden us, but to enjoy it with us.

And everything will fall into place. Moment by moment.