We’ve all been there. You know what I’m talking about. That place where the pace of life goes incredibly too fast. Your mind is racing with the to-do list that must be done TODAY. All of the very necessary items on your mental checklist must be checked off NOW! While your mind is racing, your foot is catching the underwear that just fell out of your overflowing laundry basket that you’re hastily carrying up your need-to-vaccuum-immediately stairs. You’re listening to the latest sermon podcast while your baby is crying in the background demanding your attention. You’ve got exactly 6 minutes before you need to buckle up your two kids in the van to pick up your other son who is in kindergarten. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Oh great, your baby pooped and you must change her before you leave! Don’t forget that you’re making a meal for a fellow church friend who is going through a rough time. And, you volunteered to work at the school book fair. So you hop into the van, forgetting to buckle in your kids, drive to the school to pick up your son, get back home, do homework, make a meal, make your own family meal, volunteer, put the kids to bed, and finally say hello to your husband for the first time all day. It’s 9:00 p.m.
Is the pace of life going too quickly? Or have you set your life’s speedometer at a harmful speed? At this pace, what did you truly accomplish? The satisfaction of checking off items from your list? Or teaching your children and husband that your to-do list is much more important than them?
Ouch.
I am the To-Do List Queen! I don’t ever give the lists to my husband because I didn’t want to be one of “those” wives. However, I’m an expert at mentally storing checklists in my head for the both of us to accomplish. The other day, I told my husband that there was so much to do and I was feeling very stressed. He asked me what was on my list. I quickly listed out 37 items that needed done today, including the need to bake a rhubarb pie because I did so every summer. Praying was on my list. Exercising was on it, too. So was playing with my children amongst finishing the laundry, calling a friend, and shopping for a birthday present. I asked him what was on his list. This is what he wrote:
I’m tired.
What’s wrong with Amanda?
I was shocked. There was an overwhelming amount of things I considered a necessity on my list and only two unimportant items on his list. What was wrong with me? He simply looked at me in my eyes and said, “Amanda, you do not need to do anything on this list. You have two priorities: God and Us.”
Then I heard that still, small voice. The one that goes against my list. The one that speaks truth and tells me gently things that I tend to ignore. The one that pushes me toward righteousness. Just kneel. Lay down your agenda and follow mine.
For the last several weeks, I’ve practiced stopping and kneeling before the Lord, acknowledging his sovereign reign over my life and recognizing that He calls the shots. My job is to obey. My job is to say yes before He even asks me. My job is to follow His leading and not my own.
I challenge you today to stop and just kneel. Whether you’re in your kitchen, in your bedroom, in a coffee shop. Yes, I know that sounds strange. But there’s something about yielding to what God wants rather than yielding to yourself. It’s humbling and freeing. Go ahead, just kneel.
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