“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
First things first.
Do you ever get overwhelmed by sudden “urgent” projects or tasks that come up and take over your schedule? Recently, I have been learning the value of saying no to projects or events that would derail my other priorities or lead to excess stress. I’m not doing this perfectly yet, but I’m learning how to arrange my schedule around the priorities and make them, well…my priorities.
I’ve had a lot going on recently, and fitting anything else into my schedule would be quite questionable. Against my better judgment, I took on an “urgent” task for a previous client last week. Despite the fact that I’m going out of town in a few weeks, finishing up three website designs for clients, looking at potential housing for this fall, keeping up with this blog, and organizing the first draft of my first book, I decided to take on a last-minute design project that the client convinced me that he needed me to do. I almost immediately regretted that agreement as I got into the highly-detailed and dense graphic project. I knew it was going to derail the rest of my week and make it hard to get other important things done before going out of town.
Rather than being content with the little things I needed to get done, I decided I could hustle and get this done also. It’s not that I needed the money. I’ve been doing well with other website designs and writing projects, so I didn’t need to take this on for financial purposes. I took it on because it was extra income and because I felt pressured to please someone else and make them happy, all the while making myself very unhappy that I let someone else’s poor planning and last-minute rush invade my already tight schedule.
Feeling convicted about letting someone else rule my schedules, I took the situation to the Lord. There is always grace with the Lord. There is also always the opportunity to learn from mistakes so we can work towards not repeating them again. That’s wisdom, isn’t it—learning from mistakes so we don’t repeat them?
Anyway, I’m not doing any of this perfectly yet, but I’m heading towards it because when I’ve done it well it has added a lot of peace and joy to my schedule.
So, what am I learning?
Say no. When you arrange your priorities and keep them first, you will not have time for some of the things you are asked to do. There may be some projects or activities you will have time for as you create the boundaries around your priorities, but there will almost certainly be some that will no longer fit if you want to cut the stress and hurry out of your life. Be willing and firm about saying no to the “urgent” or last-minute things that are the result of someone else’s poor planning.
Make your priorities your priorities. Write down what your priorities are—the things God has called you to be faithful with during this season. This might be family time, personal or family devotions, exercise, specific projects, work-related endeavors we need to do, your ministry, your close or most important relationships, etc. Whatever are the things you need to do, make sure that you aren’t allowing other things or people to trample your schedule. Make these things your priorities in order to set aside the time and energy to do them well.
Trust God with the rest. The big project I took on recently that trampled my already tight schedule…I took it on for the sole reason that it was extra income. I didn’t need it. I was already doing well with the projects I was already working on. It was because I wanted more and I was tempted into thinking I could handle it, while I really knew it was too much for right now. I’m slowly learning to trust God in the little places and be content with the things He gives me to do and to be faithful in those things. He will provide for my needs as I’m faithful to keep up with the clients I have and order my schedule in a way that honors Him, puts His things first, blesses others, and doesn’t allow covetousness to sneak in and make me overly busy.
Honor God’s work in your life. I’m learning how to make space in my life for the work God is doing. To make time and reserve energy for those areas where He is leading. Not allowing my schedule to be overrun by excess activities or overwhelming projects that steal my peace and availability for the Lord’s work and specific areas where He is leading. A few of those areas for me, where God is leading, have been in writing and dating. With an unnecessarily busy schedule, both of those areas get shoved into a tiny window of time when I’m also feeling too stressed to be intentional.
Pulling weeds & making space.
Gardens require tending and nurturing to allow them to flourish. Our schedules are no different. With some care—through pulling the weeds of excess activities, watering and self-care, nurturing through God’s word and community—the gardens of our lives can become beautiful, meaningful, and fruitful. It takes work, but it is worth the effort.
It’s been through this recent project and overwhelmed schedule that I’ve realized how important my priorities are. When I suddenly couldn’t take care of what I needed to do, I realized how important it is to be careful in making commitments and to honor the little things where God is leading. As we take care of those little things, He will eventually give us more to handle. We need to make genuine space in our lives for the things we want to see grow and flourish.
Oftentimes we have a lot of dreams and goals and good things that God has given us, but we don’t consistently dedicate the time and effort needed to pursue them. Unless we carve out the time and space, which will almost definitely mean saying no to other things, then we will never be able to see it grow and flourish into what it could be. Putting something first means that other things will be second, third, fourth, fifth, or not even on the list.
Challenge/Takeaway Action: Take time to think over your priorities and write down what they are. Consider the areas of your life that are stressful and overly busy or unfocused. Think of some ways you can say no to things that are cramping your schedule so you can take care of priorities and put first things first. What are you prioritizing in your life? What are you stressed over that isn’t getting done due to a full schedule? What are some things you are doing that are filling up your schedule but are not a priority in your life? How can you make space for your priorities? What are your priorities?
