We just spent the last few days with my parents in Red River, New Mexico. We had a great time. We got to do a lot of fun things as well as just relax. We ran into several people that we knew. It’s amazing that every time we go out there we run into people we know. So if you are reading this and we ran into you out there, we really enjoyed seeing you and catching up! It’s so crazy that some of the people we saw are friends that live close to us or family that don’t actually live that far away, and yet we run into them 8 hours from home. It happens every time we go out there. It’s always fun to see familiar faces while we are there!
One thing that I love about being there is that it is so peaceful. It is, for the most part, a family atmosphere. I love going out and sitting on the porch in the mornings and evenings just to relax and drink some coffee. This year the house that we stayed in was right by the river (stream or whatever you want to call it). When I say right by the river, I mean about 5 steps from the back porch.
One afternoon while we were there I walked into our bedroom from the back porch, which had a door leading outside. As I walked through the bedroom I saw this.
This is my Bible. On top of it are baseball gloves and baseballs. There are air pods and hats around it. My wallet is on the other side of it. Now this is confession time. We had been there two days. Guess what had been used and what hadn’t. Yep, that’s right. We had played catch every day. Multiple times. We played catch not only because we are a baseball family and like playing catch, but my youngest son is getting ready to go to Regionals this week and we had to play catch to stay ready for that. In Daxon’s words, “My coaches said I need to play catch at Red River.” I don’t blame them. I am the same way as a coach. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing catch. But guess what hadn’t been used the first two days we were there? That’s right, the Bible.
When I saw what was in this picture, my mind immediately went to the things that cause us to get distracted from God. We pile things in our lives on top of what we already have happening and sometimes we get too much going on. What does this lead to? I feel like this photo is a perfect description of what really happens. The things that should be the most important get pushed to the bottom of the pile. We end up doing those things at the bottom just when we feel like have time for them.
Here’s the thing about getting in the word. We have to make time for it ourselves. Our bosses let us know when we need to be at work. Coaches let us know when we have ballgames, practices, etc. We have to make time for God ourselves. It doesn’t just happen. I have talked about in here before how for a lot of years I was “too busy” to spend time in the word and didn’t spend much time talking to God. But, here’s my conclusion I came to. That’s an excuse. Here’s how I fixed it. I realized that I had a time when I woke up in the morning. I get in a routine and get up at the same time most mornings. I do the same things each morning. We all do. Here’s what I had to figure out. I had to get up just a little bit earlier and guess what, I then had time to spend with God each morning. Am I perfect at it? No, absolutely not. I just confessed that I went two days at Red River and didn’t do a Bible study, pray, or spend any time working on my spiritual self in the morning. But, guess what I did each morning before I did anything else those first two days? I got up and ran and worked out. How about that for having my pile out of sorts?
It happens to all of us. The more we put these things ahead of what really matters, the easier it becomes. We put work ahead of God and our families. We put so much emphasis on our jobs that we neglect our family. We don’t spend time in the Word. We put sports, or other hobbies, ahead of God. We do those things instead of worship God or we are so tired or busy from doing those things that we can’t find time to spend time talking to God. We are just too tired. We put the value of money ahead of God. We become greedy and don’t do things the way God wants us to do them. We let these things happen once and think it isn’t not a big deal. It’s just once. Then we let it happen again and it’s still not that big of a deal because it’s not all the time. Then again and again. Before we know it it’s happening a lot because it got easier every time it happened.
That’s how our pile can get out of sorts. The things that should be at the top get pushed down to the bottom. Here’s what I realized on day 3 when I finally reorganized my pile. I spent time the next few mornings with God outside on the back porch before I started the rest of the day. It was so awesome to go out there and listen to the water flow over the rocks because it just made me feel so at peace. Then I would look up from there and see the mountains and would just be so thankful for all the beautiful things God created that we get to enjoy. Not only did I not do this the first couple of mornings because I was “too busy”, but my days were a whole lot better and more peaceful when it started with God. Amazing how that happens, huh!
It’s so easy to get our piles of life out of whack. The things that should matter most get pushed to the bottom because of what the world tells us matters more. Guess who that is at work? You guessed it, satan. He wants our pile to be turned upside down from what it should be. Don’t let him win. I challenge us all to check how our pile is stacked up. If the things that should matter most are on the bottom, it’s time to fix that. If everything is as it should be in our life and our pile is organized just right, then just keep on rockin’ along. We just have to make sure that we check ourselves from time to time. It doesn’t take long for our lives to end up like the picture of my dresser this week. God will send us little reminders like He did me this week if we will just pay attention. When that happens, it’s time to reorganize our pile!