I have a tendency to make lists. I enjoy them very much and it provides great enthusiasm to be able to cross things off and feel that sense of completion. Currently, I am working on my list of improvements around the house. We just finished putting a new floor in our bathroom complete with a fresh coat of paint and new decorations. It was a bit stressful and messy, but I love the end result. I can’t actually believe the mess I allowed my family to live in while this project was in the works. But, I knew in the end it would all be worth the mess and effort. What my husband appreciated so much about me was when we were in the middle of the project and I started to add more things to our list. He reminded me it was important to focus on the task at hand and work one thing at a time.
Now, I’m hoping some people out there understand where I was coming from in trying to add more things to my list. I mean, really, what’s wrong with fixing everything at one time? It seems that if you’re in a room you could get everything done little by little and know it’s all done. Instead, some say it’s better to work one thing in the entire room before starting another thing.
Let me give a random example. If you are painting, caulking, and putting down a floor in a room to your house, let’s say a bathroom, you might think it would be best to put down the floor first. What would you do next? Would you put back the baseboard, the toilet, then caulk and/or paint? Or, would you put back the baseboard, caulk some, put back the toilet, realize you need to do the caulk around your tub, then caulk some more, and then paint? Wonder which side I was on?
Okay, as I’m writing this I can see how confusing the last train of thinking seems to be. I have to admit, in case you didn’t already figure it out, but the last one was my way of thinking! This multi-tasking didn’t get me too far except in a bigger mess as I continued to start more projects before finishing one. So, we went with my husband’s suggestion on this one, worked one thing at a time and the project went much more smoothly!
Realizing how this seemed to lessen the stress of the project, I decided to apply this lesson to my spiritual life today, as well. I like to plan and make lists so much that at times I can miss the “project” at hand. I get to a point in my journey with God where we are progressing just fine. There are days where we commune and have a great time together. There are the busy days where I don’t have time to sit down and chat, but we have times of prayers throughout the day. Then, something happens. Circumstances arise. Suddenly, things are no longer as they seemed. Something has changed.
By default I begin to go into my mode of lists. A list of circumstances is created in my mind. I try to determine if I could change anything or help fix it up. The list of “what ifs” are calculated. Another list of “things to do” are compiled. Enter the “random bathroom example”. I begin to find so many things to fix that my focus continually shifts. My mess continues to increase and I feel as though nothing is being accomplished. There I sit. I’m in the middle of the “room” looking around and feeling lost.
Feeling lost is not a fun place to be.
Just like the bathroom mess, I see the broken pieces of my life sitting on the floor. The toilets of my life that are unclean and nasty. The baseboards that are attached, but not caulked so it looks so incomplete. Ever feel broken, unclean or incomplete? So, I continue to look around. My focus is on the growing list of things wrong and not perfect and not on the bigger picture. But, there is One who sees the bigger picture and knows what my life is supposed to look like in the end. I must rely on His guidance and direction daily as He tells me what we need to do next. I hate to ask this, but do I really need a list if God is my only focus and purpose? If only I would focus… Oops. There I go again trying to make another list.
© 2012 Susan M. Sims
Image courtesy of dan at freedigitalphotos.net
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