At the TOP of the To-Do List
The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV)
In our everyday lives, we are bombarded with busy! Go here, there, get groceries, call so-and-so, write a note of encouragement to someone. I do make an agenda but I don’t always get everything done. That’s because other things sneak into my day and upset my agenda apple cart! You know what I’m talking about! Katy W. Sundararajan (All God’s Creatures) learned about a to-do list from her dog, Honey.
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One particularly busy day, I was bent over petting my dog, Honey, in our entryway as she greeted me. I had just returned from the store and was distracted, thinking about the next task at hand, an online meeting I was running late for. Honey, as usual, had brought me a favorite toy and was wagging her tail with great exuberance. To further gain my attention, she was bouncing along in front of me as I headed toward my office.
“Hi, Honey-baby. How are you?” I said, planning to brush her off so I could get to my meeting, but then I heard myself say, “What’s on your to-do list today?” And do you know what? Honey just bounced around some more, showing me her toy. In fact, at any given moment, my steadfast and loving dog’s entire to-do list is to pay attention to me. She never fails to welcome me home, ever. She keeps an eye on me even when she is curled in a ball on her bed. If I leave the room, Honey follows me just to be sure she won’t miss a single part of my day. Her to-do list, if she had one, would simply have my name on it, nothing more.
The way Honey shows up in my life is a lot like the way God is always present and available to me: mighty to save, rejoicing over me, quieting me with His love. I spend a good deal of my life rushing about, attending to my to-do list and the tyranny of much that is urgent. It can leave me feeling scattered, stressed out and unfocused. I know that none of this will change, however, unless I settle into God’s saving presence and the quiet peace of His gladness and love; for me. God’s love can completely change my focus.
WALK OF FAITH: As you go through your to-do list today, envision God’s to-do list with your name at the top.
Loving Lord, thank You for Your saving presence that quiets my soul. Help me never to be too busy for You. AMEN.