Prioritizing our lives

I lead a very busy life . . . I seem to be always on the run, things need to be done,  grocery to buy, parcels to collect, things not getting done when they ought to . . you know the story . . . my life isn't much different to most women.  Sadly my worldly activities can take control and I forget to prioritizing as I should.  I don't do it intentionally but with all that dashing off in all directions I loose track of what is most important - life gets out of balance.  I need to stop and think about what is important, sadly many find it difficult.  For Christian women this should be very easy.  What or who should we be putting first:

Put God first: It is that simple.  He should be our number one top priority. Our love for Him should be complete and all-consuming as said in Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." Each day a quiet time needs to be made (no matter what else is going on) for reading the Bible, His Word.  This can be hard when there are so many demands coming from many directions, but its like a car needing petrol - without it, the car will stop.  Without the Word of God, we too will stop. John 15 verse 5 confirms this "for without me ye can do nothing".  And how true that is.  My quiet time is in the evening, when I go to bed and read for an hour - for me this is a perfect way to end my day and I can sleep peaceful knowing that all my problems are in the Lords hands.  I also do a small devotional reading in the mornings.

Having God as number one means that He is above all else, He becomes our life and we become His servant.  No decision is made without consulting through prayer to God as He is our top priority. We are completely devoted.

Serving others: Our next priority should be serving others and the first on that list is our families  (husbands should be at the top of the family list) and Proverbs 31 (15 and 20) is a good place to find advise "She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens." and "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy."  I am a working mum (full-time) so it is important for women like me to make sure that our jobs do not hinder priority one and two.  If it does, changes need to be considered - this could mean eliminate nonessential activities to far more radical life changes.  This, of course, can be easier said that done - we don't like to be told to make changes to our lives that we think are going smoothly.

Beyond our families are our parents, friends, neighbours etc..  How well do people know their neigbours? Or even care about them?

If we focus on these two as our top two priorities in life, all else will fall in place.  Those things that made me run in circles will fade away and seem much easier - we will have a purpose for each day. The world will not dominate our lives, God will.  Be firm when setting your priorities and follow through with whatever God has planned for you.

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