When God Doesn’t Fit in My Jar.

You know how it is. You are probably in a similar stage of life as me. You have a husband or a wife, kids, committees, church functions, friends, school functions, work, appointments, shool, homework… chores… errands… eating… sleeping…  showering… blogging…. am I forgetting anything?

Oh yeah…

God.

Or more precisely, personal devotions.

It’s so easy to forget to put Him on the list when life is busy, isn’t it? Life has been busy for us in the Smith household, and I have been struggling to manage my time well, both at work and in my home life. I find that the first thing to go when life is busy is sleep. Then my private devotions start to slip because I am too tired to get up early and the rest of the day is filled with other things.   (Poor excuses, I know.) So in order to remedy this, or at least try to figure out how to juggle everything, I signed up for a time management seminar – one which I almost missed because of time conflicts!

I learned alot, but what really stuck in my head is a story that most of us have probably heard:

The speaker pulled out a jar and filled it with rocks, to which he asked if it was full.

Most of us replied, “Yes.”

He pulled out some pebbles and poured them into the jar. Again he asked if it was full. Some replied yes, others, “Probably not.”

He then pulled out some sand and poured it in the jar. Is it full? We replied, “No.”

He then poured water into the jar until it reached the top.

Now it is full. If the Jar is filled with all the little bits first, like the gravel, the sand and the water, there is no way you’d be able to fit the big rocks in.

The big rocks represent the important things in our lives. If we keep trying to do the not so important tasks and putting off the bigger ones, they’ll never get done.

I saw how everything fit in the jar when the bigger rocks were placed first, and how the big stuff didn’t fit when the little things were put in first. I pictured my schedule in my head, with each rock representing the more important tasks, and all the little pebbles,  sand and water representing all other things. It got me thinking about how I need to take a good long look at my schedule and figure out if those things that are taking up my time are really that important. 

I could go on about the sand  and water – things like Facebook, or maybe blogging…but I won’t.  I simply want to assess how I view God in this Jar that is my life.

Does he fit?

Is there room in my jar for Him?

Obviously there are large rocks like sleep, work, family and school, but where is God?  How does he fit in? How would you rate your relationship with God?  Is it a big rock?  A pebble?  Sand?  Water?  Or have we so filled our jars with other rocks, pebbles, sand and water that we can’t even fit personal devotions in the jar?

When God does’t fit in my jar…I know I have some changes to make.

How about you?

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:38-42