To Be List
I like lists. Writing down what I hope to accomplish helps me clear my mind for other things. Crossing items off is a sure satisfaction. But to-do lists don't always get done. Big and small surprises can derail even the best planned day. Sometimes schedules have to be scrapped.
Putting aside hoped-for assignments to hold a sick baby, welcome a drop by visitor, or rescue a teen who ran out of gas is common where I come from. People have priority over lists. Add in the accidents, attitudes, and antics of normal family life and it can feel like a vast right-wing conspiracy to keep me from my commitments. Can anyone relate?
Every interruption, frustration, breakdown, or delay is an opportunity to respond rightly, to pursue perseverance, and to surrender sweetly.
Sometimes schedules have to be scrapped.
Here's the good news. While we often have to give up on our to-do lists, we don't ever have to abandon our to-be list. Yes, that's a real thing. We may not have it all written out, but if we belong to Jesus, He is working it out. In us. And His list is pretty exhaustive. It includes virtues like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to name a few. His to-be list for us can be summed up in one word--Christlikeness.
Concentrate on God's to-be list.
Are we cleaning up the third spill in thirty minutes? Flex that patience muscle. Are the kids fighting over who gets the yellow thingee while the blue one lies unappreciated two inches away? Grasp an opportunity for gentleness. Is the baby fussing at the same time supper is burning and the oldest has a middle school math meltdown? Breathe in God's peace and release the frustration.
Progress on a to-be list is not about us muscling through our days with gritted teeth and an I WILL DO THIS attitude. It's about God's grace infusing our hearts and allowing us to see the big picture in the moment. Every interruption, frustration, breakdown, or delay is an opportunity to respond rightly, to pursue perseverance, and to surrender sweetly. We can love Him well and love our children well by living out Christ's generosity and joy even when events conspire to wreak havoc with our plans.
A day that demolishes our carefully planned details is the kind of day that applies some spit shine on our inner beauty.
At the end of the day we may feel like we didn't accomplish much. But moral progress is priceless. Even old Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame) can't keep us from character growth. A day that demolishes our carefully planned details is the kind of day that applies some spit shine on our inner beauty.
So maybe we should focus a little more on being instead of doing. Keep making and marking off those to-do lists. But concentrate on God's to-be list. Trust Him for progress. This side of heaven we won't have the satisfaction of marking off those traits as done. But we have the satisfaction of working toward the ultimate, "Well done."
