A frustrating busy signal?  Another thing our kids won’t ever know!  Like the feeling of anticipation, while you listen for your favorite song, just so you can quickly push that red “record” button on the cassette recorder – whew, just in time!  Or, the impatient waiting for Christmas Season, so you can finally watch the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie – and don’t even think of going to the bathroom till the commercial!  I know, I know, I am showing my age.  But I digress…back to that busy signal – it indicates something important.  The person you are trying to reach is unavailable.  That sounds like the beginning of a voicemail greeting, but big the difference is that a busy signal does not invite any communication; you can’t leave a message.  A busy signal is a sort of rejection.  All you can do is try again, and again, and again.  Are you sending a busy signal to God?  To family?  To friends?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17).  Life is short.  God blesses us with every day He gives us – each one is a gift.  Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).  Sometimes we get sidetracked, thinking that all of our important plans and busyness will amount to something.  My Dad told me to measure the importance of a situation by determining “Will it matter a week from now? A month? A year? Ten Years?”  What if we asked ourselves instead, “Will this matter an eternity from now?”  What would make the cut in your life?

Now, don’t get me wrong, the dust on the blinds won’t matter an eternity from now, but I still have to dust (drat!).  We have to do laundry and get dinner on the table.  That goes to being a good steward of the aforementioned gifts that the aforementioned Father has given us; so we need a little balance.  We need to set our priorities.  Lorraine Hill reminds us that getting caught up in our to-do lists sometimes leaves us feeling trapped and defeated and steals our joy.  We may have over-committed our children’s schedule…when schoolwork, chores and activities are through, do they have time to play?  Are you rushing from one thing to the next, frantic?  Does your list always start with the stuff you didn’t get done yesterday?  We must leave time and space for God to work in our schedules and in our hearts. The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9).  I have learned to pray over my “to-do list” and ask God to help me accept His plan for my day, rather than to ask Him to accomplish my agenda.  This was so hard at first, and when I did it, I was gritting my teeth the whole time.  But it did not take long till I was able to see that His way really is better.  I realized that God is best suited to scheduling my day because He knows what is most important.  After all, He is the one with the eternal perspective. Did you ever see the old bumper sticker “God is My Co-Pilot” (showing my age again)?  I saw a better one once that said “If God is Your Co-Pilot, Switch Seats”.  

JustaGirl…just like you