Begin with the Rocks

For years I was in the habit of getting up early and spending time with God. One day, about a year ago, I realized it was no longer how I began my day. My slow, quiet start to the day had been replaced with planning and doing. The minute I opened my eyes, I was off to the races. Two loads of laundry, done. Kitchen, cleaned. Ever-replenishing pile of school papers, sorted. Permission slips, signed. Lunches, packed. To-do list, written. I’d showered, dressed, fed the kids and kissed the husband and sent the circus out the door. All before 8 am. It was time for work, I’d been up for hours, and hadn’t spent any time with God. I wondered when I’d slowly transitioned away from “being” to “doing?” How had I not noticed? I’d shifted into a pattern of using my precious morning time to tackle the day instead of fueling my soul. So I decided instead of a “to-do” list, I would make a “to-be” list. I will: Be quiet Be still Be with God Be aware Be present In order to focus on “being,” I needed to be willing to let go of “doing.” The two are mutually exclusive. I needed to quiet not just my body, but also my mind. I gave myself one hour. The only rules were no planner, no phone, and no “doing.” I spent the rest of the day with my “to-be” list. I felt immensely better.

Lord, helps us to order our days and to put You first. Teach us what we need to let go of in order to be still and know You. Help us to remember that everything else is just sand.

  It’s like the story of the rocks and sand. A person was given a jar along with a pile of rocks and a bag of sand. All of the rocks and all of the sand needed to fit in the jar. She started with the sand and it filled most of the jar. She could only fit a few rocks. But when she started with the rocks, the sand was able to fill the space around the rocks. Our time with God is the rocks. It needs to come first. The sand is everything else. It represents our responsibilities, our “to-dos.” When we begin our day with stillness, silence, and God, it all fits.