TO DO: MAKE BIRDHOUSE

When my mom stumbled upon a “do-it-yourself” kit for a wooden birdhouse on sale, she decided it would be a fun project to do with my 99-year-old grandmother. For Grandma, whose physical activity is limited because of several debilitating strokes, building the birdhouse was the big entertainment of the day. By the afternoon the finished product was hanging outside the living room window.  Grandma was delighted with the cardinals, finches, and chickadees that flocked to feed on the wild birdseed.

To-Do

That evening, my mom showed me her unfinished “To Do” list from the morning.  Not a single item on her list had been completed: as full-time caregiver for her mother-in-law, Mom’s days are filled with meal preparation, loads of laundry, and helping Grandma dress or go to the bathroom.  Rarely does she have uninterrupted time to work on her freelance editing or translation projects.

But rather than wallow in guilt over what she hadn’t done that day, Mom decided to write up a new list of what she had accomplished.  On a fresh sheet of paper, she wrote in big letters at the top: “To Do Today”.  Underneath she scrawled only one item: “Make birdhouse.” And with a flourish, she checked it off the list!

“I’ve discovered,” she said with a grin, “that it’s much better to write my ‘To Do’ lists at the end of the day!”

God’s Priority

So today I’m following my mom’s example.  I’m choosing to reject the condemning thoughts over what I should have done and ought to do.  I’m not going to worry about my “To Do” list. Instead, I will ask my Heavenly Father, “What is YOUR priority for me today?” It may be something unexpected.  He may just want me to build a birdhouse with my grandmother.

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

Going vertical!

MJ