Choose the better thing...

Today is the kind of day that I am FULLY aware that I cannot do it all. I have not sat down or stopped all day and the only thing I have to show for it is a mess in the living room, sink full of dishes, and laundry that looks like someone else has dropped it off at my house. I have little bundles of love and madness (my kids) saying "Mommy" every few seconds and a 1 and 1/2 year old calling me "Shae" instead of "Mommy", which I am assuming is because "Mommy" is apparently not working for her. I have food, but all of the wrong ones because everything that the baby is asking for is nowhere to be found.

It is days like today that I truly see my need for a Savior, and yet, my time with Him is usually the first to go. I fight the thought that I don't have time. I go around putting out fires throughout the day, treading water and going nowhere and carrying around that feeling of desperation; desperate for my soul to be refreshed and my mind to be renewed. A very, very dear and precious friend of mine shared an illustration with me that has stuck in my mind all day today. Imagine a class jar being filled up with little rocks, each one representing what needs to be done in a day. Then you have 2 large balls, which represent time with God in His Word and time in prayer. After the jar is filled with all of the little rocks, the balls will not fit into the jar. However, if you empty the jar, put the 2 large balls in first, then you can still fit in all of the little rocks. AMAZING!!! haha

I say it like that because no matter how much we know the necessity of time with Him, we still choose something different. I have grown leaps and bounds in this area, but it is not a one time commitment. It is a choice that lies before us over and over and over again during the course of the day. It is a difficult thing to decide what we will have to let go of when all of our options seem necessary. However, each time that I feel overwhelmed and think, "I cannot do it all", I hear the voice of God in my heart saying, "Of course you can't"!

"Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

That is what I want and need....to bear much fruit instead of putting out fires with nothing really to show for it. And the fruit He is referring to is the fruit of His Spirit...love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galations 5:22-23) I could definitely use a harvest of those in my day! Especially when I can still smell the smoke from my fires; the dishes, laundry, housework, things I would enjoy doing, the demands of babies in the house,the needs of family and friends, and the list goes on. However, with the fruit of the Spirit in my life, the fires will not take me out. Time with God in His word and time in prayer will give me the frame of mind and attitude of heart to just go ahead and grab a stick and roast some marsh-mellows because I am indeed blessed!!

Will my house look the way I want it to this afternoon? Definitely not. Will I have an empty laundry room and empty laundry baskets by the end of the day? Not unless I give all the clothes away. And my kids will probably eat Bagel Bites for the millionth time and I will not get to MANY things I would like to, but one thing I do know... my time with God has restored my soul, renewed my energy, and changed my attitude. I will choose the better thing when I walk out of my bedroom (with the bed still not made) after my time with Him...I will choose my blessings. I will be able to see more clearly the things I will just simply have to let go, and will keep one thing in front of me...my need for a Savior!

God in your Word, You warn us that the cares and anxieties of this world will choke out the Word planted in our souls...the Word that will bear fruit in our lives and produce a harvest. I pray today that we will stop and choose life and blessing. Let us stop and choose YOU. I pray that today we will simply do what we know to do...spend time with you and go to you over and over again in Jesus name.