Priorities

   As I read the several Bible readings this morning, and again as I walked in the cold of this early morning on St. Simons, the word seemed to come to me, "Priorities".

   I know a lot of the time, I get mine mixed up, so I tried to take some time and just look back in my life to see what it looked like my priorities had been in days past. What had been the most important things in my life, at least in the way I lived? No matter what I said they were, what did my life show?

  Then I looked at today. When I think about this, it seems like I need to consider at least two levels of priorities. There are the ones that guide my life in the long term, and then there are those others that are more time sensitive, that are the day to day ones.

   What are the questions that I should ask as I begin another day? Maybe I should look at my proposed schedule and ask myself if these things fit into the things I say are my priorities in life. When I look back at the end of the day, will I be able to say that I have kept all of these straight?

   Deep down, I would say that my priority is to serve God and to seek His face. Those sound very good, but do I make everyday decisions that lead to those larger ones, or are they just good on paper?

   I got up early to pray, read, think and write, and I tried to get His perspective on the day ahead, even before it begins in earnest. That was a good start, but then what? How does playing tennis for a couple of hours, or helping around the house, or setting up the coffee for tomorrow at church, fit in with the overall priority?

   When I look back tonight, what will I find? Will I have thought enough about my goals in life to fit them into my schedule, or will my schedule actually be built around them?

   Perhaps the more appropriate question might not be how did I do with all of this today, but what does God see, and say.