"To-Do" Lists

I'm a planner. One of my first tasks of the day is to sit down with my coffee and make my daily "To-Do" list. My "To-Do" list for today reads as follows:

1. Split up pork loin in fridge; freeze half.
2. Pay bills.
3. Pinnacle Bank: deposit missions check.
4. Call Vanderbilt regarding bill.
5. Pick up Daniel's meds at Kroger.
6. Library.
7. Dinner: Red beans & Rice.

Blah blah blah blah blah. To anyone else this list is utterly meaningless, but to me, without it, our bills wouldn't get paid on time, the meat would spoil in the fridge, Daniel would not have his medicine, and, well, I would just be lost and panicky. I can't survive without my "To-Do" lists, especially with "Mommy brain." Yet, as I sit and contemplate my list I wonder: "Really how important are these items on my list?" Surely not everything I need to do today is on this list.

As I sit here and think about the other things not on my list but that I hope to accomplish--time with God, cleaning the bathroom, playing with Kate, sewing--I am immediately struck by that first one. Time with God. Wow! The Creator of the Universe didn't even make it to my "To-Do" list. Instead, He has been relegated to a mental "To-Do" list that I can't physically check off and that, if I don't get to, I don't feel too guilty about. I wonder how this makes Him feel.

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [what I will eat, drink, wear (i.e. all those things on my "To-Do" lists)] will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

God, not bills or meat or library books, needs to come first. My time with Him each day should be the top priority, not simply something I will do if there is an extra fifteen minutes in my day. When I set aside my "To-Do" list and focus on Him, He will meet all my needs.

Lord, help me to put YOU at the top of my "To-Do" list each day and to turn the events of my day over to You. Let me commit my day to You by meeting first with You and then making my "To-Do" list. Amen.