List Anxiety

I'm a "make a list" kind of girl.  If I don't make a list, the tasks at hand start clouding my brain and seem much too overwhelming.  I write all the tasks down.  Somehow seeing them there in black and white (or whatever color I like to type with that day) make them a little less ominous. 

I decided this year that I wanted to totally, without hesitation or remorse, enjoy to the -nth degree some part of the Christmas season.  I have gushed in the previous post about my love for all things Christmas.  However, I tend to overdo up to the very last second and then regret that I didn't slow down and smell the Christmas cookies.  In order to accomplish a full 2 1/2 weeks of Christmas bliss, I planned to finish all stress inducing tasks by 12/12/12.  I mean there are 12 months in a year.  There were 12 tribes of Israel.  There were 12 disciples.  12/12/12 seemed like the perfect "completion" of all my tasks. 

I made a "Main To Do List" dated 11/26 through 12/12.   I was quite proud of it.  It was all red and green.  In neat rows, and alternating colors. It started off great.  I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish the first few days.  And then things started happening.  Actually, God placed situations in my day that forced me to ask the inevitable WWJD?  I would follow through with what the Holy Spirit was prompting and then I would come back to The List.  I circled the tasks I did not accomplish that day and would draw an arrow to the next day. 

After several days in a row of Holy interruptions, I've stopped asking WWJD and started asking, "Father, what do you want me to learn?"  Here's the lesson God was trying to teach that I finally realized today:  People are more important than a list, any list, even my MAIN LIST.  The world will not be in danger because I failed to iron Troy's shirts today.  But a non-believer may be in danger if I choose to follow my own agenda rather than showing them the love of Christ. 

I looked at my list (on the fridge) this afternoon, crossed out, circled and arrowed, heaved a sigh of resignation, and stared at this:

I then prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me the focus, the strength, and the energy to accomplish it.  I prayed that He would also give me a peace in understanding what mattered most. 

Am I totally at peace yet?  No.  Am I wishing there were more hours in the day?  Yes.  Do I regret what God has taught me through this experience?  Never. 

So, as we rush through the holiday season, remember, people are more important than any list.