Are You Missing Something?

Lately something is missing at our house. 

It’s a wooden spatula. 

You know the kind that you use to get food off of a cookie sheet? 

It’s not just any wooden spatula.  It’s handmade and expensive. We buy all of our wooden spoons from a vendor at a craft show we love.  They’re not cheap, but they are worth the investment.

The really sad part is this isn’t the first one we’ve lost.  We lost another one sometime last year.  But I couldn’t tell you exactly when because we didn’t miss it right away.

We’ve looked everywhere for them.  Cabinets, drawers, and on top of the refrigerator to name a few places.  We just can’t figure out where they might be.

If our son was younger, I would blame him.  We still have the VCR that doesn’t have a matching remote.  The remote went missing when our son was a year old, right about the time he started throwing everything in the garbage.  Remember that stage?

Now we are stuck with a pink cheap plastic spatula.  I don’t even know where we got it.  It does the job, but it sure isn’t very pretty or comfortable in the hand like the wooden one.

I wonder how many things in our life are like those spatulas.

We don’t really notice when they're missing. 

The disappearance happens quietly.  We get too busy or distracted to really pay attention to things…or more importantly people.  We become so busy serving and/or doing that we forget to spend time with the people we are serving.

We don’t stop to…

…play games with our children

…listen to our husband’s day

…chat with a friend over coffee.

Instead, we keep…

… doing the laundry

… paying the bills

…carpooling the kids.

And we don’t realize what we're missing…

…precious memories with children who will not always be little

…intimacy with our husband that comes from sharing life together

…the deepening of a friendship that makes life richer.

We don’t realize what we are missing until it’s too late.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21

I love this message from Jesus.  He’s telling us to remember what’s important.  He’s asking us to reevaluate our priorities and spend time on them.

None of our obligations are bad.  In fact, they all need to be done.  The problem is when our chores are in control of us and we are not in control of them.

When that happens, it’s time to take a step back.  It’s time to reevaluate and see where we can make changes to our schedule.  Sometimes we can cut back on our commitments.  Other times we can ask for help.

But most importantly, we must pray.

In that same sermon, Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God, then all these things will be given to us (Matthew 6:33).

It’s easy to overlook the importance of prayer when we’re busy.  But the truth is we can’t get any of it done effectively without the power of God.  We need to ask Him to help us manage our time more effectively in order to be productive. 

Otherwise we'll miss out on what's important and be left with a plastic pink spatula.

Today I am linking up with the incredible Michelle @ SomeGirl's Website for Thought Provoking Thursday.  I hope you'll join me there!

So my dear friends, what are you missing?  Is it time to make a change?