Focused?

I have a strong tendency to underestimate the time and energy any particular project may take. In theory this has led me to surround my daily routine with buffers of time. I say "in theory" because I often get distracted by any number of truly good activities. There are many things I enjoy, among them - helping other people, so I often flit from one good thing to the next like a bee collecting pollen from each available flower. It's easy to think, "Oh, just THIS thing to my day..." It's an ongoing process to keep my priorities straight AND NARROWED. Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People) wrote that staying on track in life is similar to the work of an airline pilot. Pilots are constantly making course adjustments as they go in order to arrive at the intended destination. This metaphor enables me to feel more hopeful and gracious towards myself when I get off course. I hope it encourages you too. No matter where you may be off course - your finances, your current job situation, or "just" your daily responsibilities, I hope you will allow yourself to recognize the need for course corrections, while also being kind towards yourself about it. Or even encouraging yourself: "Look at how I'm able to see this about myself. Here is how I plan to do things differently next time." Just like the pilot, it will be an ongoing process on this life's journey, but think of how you will grow along the way.

When I turned forty, I realized one of the best parts of getting older is seeing how, by the grace of God, I have changed or at least improved in certain areas. I appreciate no longer being a suicidal 13 year-old, a 20 year-old carrying childhood baggage, or a younger woman with PMDD. I appreciate that I can (by my own free choice!) sit on a high ledge and not experience fear. I think of all I have enjoyed, and all I have gained from times of tears, and I'm thankful for each season. Naturally, there is plenty of room left to grow...

Bringing me back to my tendency to overfill my day leading to being rushed, or late, or overtired... This past Sunday I spent too much time making an ice cream cake simply because I both miss and enjoy the process - including giving it to our adult son for his birthday - and sharing in the eating! But. As I was finishing laundry after midnight, while my husband packed for an early departure in the morning, I realized I had traded making a cake in place of a more restful evening before my husband left for a week. Why? Because I lost my focus on what mattered MORE to me than the joy of cake making. Not that I'm beating myself up about it. No. Instead I'm using it as reminder to be purposeful this week while he is gone. Five days without him is daunting in regard to missing him, but time goes by quickly. I will work on priority projects and I things I enjoy. I will not, hopefully, allow myself to get pulled away in other course-altering directions unless they are for a greater purpose than the plotted course and destination.

I have been reminded saying yes to spending time (or any resource of course) in one way means saying no to something else. I've been reminded to do the most important things first before expending my day's resources on lesser things - no matter how good, or fun, or even helpful those things may be.

Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?