We all struggle with making time for our priorities in life.  What I found was that leaving the decision to Jesus as to what the main priorities are takes all the pressure off of me.  My first priority is my faith.  If my first priority is my faith, then I am leaving all my other priorities in the hands of Jesus.  I pray that Jesus will give me the discipline to make time for what life’s true priorities are and that I will recognize those priorities and make time.  Still to this day, I have to discipline myself to pay attention to the signs. 

Before marriage, I remember my husband teaching me one of the most important lessons I have learned regarding priorities.  I remember walking with a group of friends, and I was walking at my usual speed, which was lightning speed.  He stopped me, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “You need to slow down and smell the roses, or you are going to miss everything beautiful around you.”  I laughed and slowed down to stroll with the rest of the group. 

As we were walking that day, I could not get that message out of my head.  I had been missing so much of the beauty around me, just because I had prioritized a plan in my head of the final destination.  What I was missing was all the beauty of the trip to and from the destination.  The beautiful sky, the birds, the ducks (we were in Boston), the flowers, the sounds of spring, the conversation, and so much more. 

My husband grew up in a small town in Italy.  The evening entertainment for most people was strolling around the center of the town.  He grew up seeing the beauty of the moment: the flower beginning to bud, the band playing in the center of town, the conversation with various friends.  A life where priorities were in the moment.

It is a struggle when you have a list of priorities to accomplish that evening, and your children or spouse wants your attention.  Maybe they want you to watch a movie with them (one that you don’t enjoy), or one of them wants to tell you about something that happened that day, or they want you to help them with a project, or maybe they want you to hang out with them, but you have a list that you want to accomplish.  Those are struggles we go through every day. 

Making time to spend with your family is important; the window of opportunity may not be there as long as you think.  You may not always be doing something that is your choice of activity, but being with those that you love and having that time together is priceless.  Being able to adjust your priorities is essential.

Making time to be with those you love and for those who need your assistance can be challenging.  Pray and ask for Jesus’s guidance in finding those windows of opportunity to spend time with those you love and those who need your love.

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