Priorities

I'm not a neat freak, but every morning I am intentional about making my bed. It's a really useful habit when I'm at school because my bedroom is really small, and then I can use the bed as a "staging area," and sometimes a couch (ha, ha!) My bedroom at home is substantially larger, but I still make my bed every morning.

Sometimes, when my brother-in-law goes to work really early, my sister, nephew, and two border collies will come wake me up by climbing onto the bed next to me. We bask in the baby snuggles until little fingers and fuzzy noses start pulling out my hair and playing with my phone charger...then we actually get up and go eat breakfast. 

On these mornings, it takes me substantially longer to make my bed because instead of just one side having turned covers, the whole of my blankets, sheets and pillows are usually all the way on the floor. What's usually just a flipping of the corner of my comforter and a fluffing of my pillow becomes the whole nine yards. But I wouldn't trade it for the world - a few extra minutes making my bed versus those precious moments with my little buddy? I'll take the baby cuddles every time. 

One day, Lord willing, I'll have kiddos of my own, and will have to face my messy home and make the choice between cleaning up the dishes and being available to my children when they proudly show me their Lego structures or when I need to tell them that the TV remote is actually not a fun toy. In my ideal world, I'll be super-mom and do it all: prestigious career, home-cooked meals every night, an immaculate house, a perfect marriage, and happy, well-trained, adorable children. Picture perfect, right? I know in my heart, though, that every layer I pile on that stack will not be adding richness to my life, but rather detracting from those precious relationships and experiences with my family. I'm not a mom yet, but I can already see that I sometimes view lesser things and more important than my relationships with God and others. 

It all comes down to our priorities in life. God must come first, always, followed by our dear relationships with family and friends. Money, jobs, houses, fashion and perfectly-made beds will die with this world, and the only things that will matter are our relationship with God, and our relationships with the other souls he created. It's hard to imagine, but if I had nothing else besides those two things -- not even the clothes on my back, my life could be richer and fuller and more meaningful. Apart from God and people, every silly, man-made thing on this earth is only a distraction if it isn't being used to further the kingdom. 

Luke 10:38-42New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”