Prioritizing our lives


We all lead a very busy lives . . . I am no different  —  I seem to be always on the run, things need to be done,  grocery to buy, parcels to collect, food to cook, washing to do, things not getting done when they ought to . . you know the story . . . and for women with small children, it is even more hectic.  To add to our daily lives, we often have extra curriculum activities such as sport, crafts, reading, photography, coffee with friends etc... that chew up our time.

Sadly for many women, our worldly activities can take control and we forget to prioritizing as we should. We don't do it intentionally but with all that dashing about in every directions plus our families requiring our attention we loose track of what is most important — and life quickly gets out of balance. 

We need to stop and think about what is important, sadly many find this is difficult as they find themselves on auto pilot and not quite sure where the off switch is!  For Christian women should be very easy. Because if we don't get our priorities right we will make a mess out of our lives. 

What or who should we be putting first:


* * Put God first  * *

It is that simple. 

He should be our number one top priority, our first thing in the morning and our last thing at night.

Our love for Him should be complete and all-consuming as said in Mark 12:3

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your 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, our life's manual.  This can be hard when there are so many other 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 15:5 confirms this :

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you 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 (no, not ourselves, yes, really!) and the first on this list is our families. Our husbands need to be our number one priority and not our children, this can be very difficult for some women who tend to (perhaps unintentionally) place their children first and their husbands second

She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household  (Proverbs 31:15)

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 such as changing jobs or reducing the number of hours working.  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? 

She extends her hand to the poor,  Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:20)




If we focus on these two as our top two priorities in life, all else will fall in place.  Those things that made us 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.


But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
(Matthew 6:33)



Comments

  1. I like the way you write and what you say.....
    Always helpful when I stop by and read your posts.

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    1. Thankyou :)) i am glad you enjoyed this post.

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  2. This is very important. God absolutely must come first. Sometimes it might seem easier to put things we can see first - tangible things. But it's so important to remember that NOTHING comes before God. And of course our husband is next. I think the reason children can creep in between husband and wife is because children are so dependent and needy. But if we don't have a good relationship with God and our husband, the children and everything else will suffer. I've heard women say that they find it hard to squeeze quiet time with the Lord into their day. This is so backwards!! They should find it hard to find time to clean the floor and plenty of time for the Lord - it's a matter of priorities.

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    1. Children sneaking in and becoming number to on the list of priorities cause all sorts of long term problems, one being, when the children leave home the wife has nothing in common with the husband and has spent years having very little real time together because the children come first -it leads to far too many divorces. I like your comment about putting God before cleaning the floor!!!

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