Doing This or That

Do you have those days when you’re not sure what you’re doing? I don’t mean you have nothing to do. But how can I be effective today? Make it worthwhile and not just another day gone. There is only 24 hours in the day, which is 1,440 minutes. How can I make the most of the time I have?

I often have lists. I am a list person. I find this helps me with my memory but also with my personality. I get a sense of achievement when I cross things I have completed off my list. I have shopping lists. Christmas ideas lists. Books I desire to read lists. Chore lists…….all written in a little notebook. When ideas, things I need to do, things I want to do, come up they get added to one of my lists.

Tomorrow was one of those days. I was going to complete some things on my lists, but alas it did not go to plan. I received a phone call late at night from my son. Unexpectantly an appointment had come up for tomorrow morning that he had to go to and his wife was working and could not get out of it, so could I babysit……?

Quickly going through my mental list of what I had planned, I said ok.

That night for some reason I could not sleep. I woke early with a splitting headache (from lack of sleep) and got ready to go over to my son’s house, where I was babysitting.

When I arrived my two-year-old granddaughter, Abigail, greeted me loudly at the front door. (At the moment she only has one volume – LOUD!) I cringed at her exuberance. (My head was pounding and the pain relief had not “kicked” in yet.)

Then her four-year-old brother, Emmett, ran towards me and gave me a leaping hug and exclaimed in the one movement, “Can I go outside and play?”

After everyone had said their goodbyes to their Dad and Mum, I asked the little ones if they had eaten breakfast yet. It was still fairly early in the morning.

“Oh yes but I’ll have some more toast.” Emmett piped up. “When can we go and play?”

“When the dew is off the grass.” I replied, “and I’ve had a coffee.” I made myself a coffee and made them some toast.

I’m so glad actually that my day had not gone to plan. I was not up to doing all the chores/ things on my lists. This made me reflect.

Sometimes our plans don’t work out because God has better ones. Or He knew I was not in a good mind-set or physically not up to my plans.

In the book of James – a planned day is described but does not eventuate (it must have happened to him or others and he noticed.)

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.

James 4:13-14 NRSV

James goes on to share we should have the attitude

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:15 NRSV

And so, we did ‘play dough’ together, sang some songs (after my headache throb had subsided.) Jumped up and down on the trampoline outside, kicked the ball around and to each other, taking turns, read stories, had lots of cuddles while telling them some stories or singing them some songs I had made up…… The day was enjoyable. I had not marked anything off of my lists. But I had spent some precious time, one to one, with two of my grand-children. I could not have asked for a better day.

So, make plans but keep them fluid, movable, just in case…….

Have a heart and attitude of verse 15 – If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that……..

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How frustrating do you find it when you can’t tick things off your list or when things don’t go to plan?

When something hasn’t gone to plan have you been able to see another plan that God had for you?

How hard do you find it to let go of what you had planned?