Priorities and Productivity

I love being able to look back on my day and SEE what I accomplished.

I love days when the house is perfectly tidy, the dishes are all put away, seven of the twelve fruit trees are pruned, the laundry is completely washed, folded AND put away (btw, I don't think I've had a day like that since baby #3 joined our family---quite possibly longer).  And when I can see my day, and see it clearly, I call it a productive day.  I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  I feel good about myself.  And I really, really like feeling good about myself.

And then I get to thinking.  And wondering.  And contemplating.

I get that nagging feeling that maybe in all my productiveness I missed something more important.  I missed the big picture.  That maybe, just maybe, my priorities got so tangled up that all I really have is one knotted mess of a prize ribbon.  A feel-good, look-good, knotted mess.

Maybe my day was full of good things.  GOOD things that got the slot above GREAT things.

I hope you're still with me.  If you have a pair of hip-waders, you might want to pause for a minute and pull them on.  There you go.  Easy does it.  Those look nice on you.  They flatter your figure nicely.

Anyhow...

As a mother of young children, you often find yourself in a balancing act.  Work a little, play a little, work a little more, work a little more...  Then at the end of the day you wonder: Did I work enough?  Did I play enough?  And you can kind of stress yourself out that maybe you didn't.

Should I be on the computer at all before my housework is done?  Should I be playing a game with the kids before the beds are made?  Should I even stop reading to the kids to pull the towels out of the dryer?  Should I go outside now and save the dishes for later, even though it will take much longer to scrape them clean once the discarded enchilada has crustified and petrified itself?  Should I even do the dishes this week?  Just kidding.

But, seriously, I can plague myself with questions.  Sometimes my thoughts and questions put me all in a tither.  Then I have to remind myself, "Self, you are making this WAAAY more complicated than it really is."

I'm getting confused just typing this.

But here's my point.  There's something wrong with my thinking.

It's all backwards.

No, it's not even backwards.  It's all wrong.

I've completely forgotten:  "Be still and know..."

I've forgotten that if I've given my day to Him, He will direct it perfectly.  And when I tuck the kids in bed, check the locks on the doors and turn off the lights (and brush and floss my teeth), it won't matter if I can, or can't, see what happened that day.  Because He will work through me and for me to accomplish His will, not mine.

I've forgotten to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Never rely on what you think you know."  To trust Him about my cleaning, my projects, my child-raising, my grocery list, my errand-running, my bill paying, my laundry pile, my emails, my cooking, my...well, you name it.

I don't have to worry about my productivity or even attempt to keep my long list of priorities straight.  I only have to remember one thing:

Trust Him.

And He will direct my path.