Your “To Do” List Makeover!
by Hannah Keeley
I don’t know about you, but my “to do” list never becomes a “to done” list. It just gets transfered from one page to the next. Some things get crossed off, some things can moved over, some get totally forgotten and cast to the side. If you suffer from “to do list anxiety” then I’ve got some good news for you today.
Did you know you can narrow your “to do” list down to only ONE THING?
There’s a story in the Bible of when Jesus came to visit these two sisters–Mary and Martha. Well, Martha, being the perfect hostess, evidently started freaking out. She was running around trying to take care of all the details (as any of us moms would do). She was hustling with the food, pouring drinks, cleaning up, and unloading the dishwasher (okay, maybe not the dishwasher part, but you get the idea).
Then she noticed that her sister wasn’t lifting a finger to help her out. All heck broke loose.
She couldn’t take it anymore. There was Jesus, sitting around talking up a storm. There were all those people who hung out with him, just lounging around her house like it was their own. And there was her sister, sitting right there at Jesus’ feet not paying a bit of attention to her sister who was working her tail off, trying to be a good hostess.
“Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Check it out. We’ve all been there. We get “to do list anxiety” and get mad at the world for not pitching in. In one sentence, Martha not only condemned her sister, but she condemned her Savior as well. She not only jumped on her sister for leaving her to do all the work alone, but hollered as Jesus for not caring. How many times do we get like that? We get mad at everyone around us for not helping us out, and then hold a grudge at the Lord because we feel like He isn’t paying any attention.
But I want you to notice something. Martha did the welcoming (check out that first sentence) and then she became distracted by the very thing she willingly stepped into (check out the third sentence). Many times, we take on the work as a willing service and then we let the blessing become a curse. Martha chose to open her house and she made the right choice. What she did with it afterward was what led to her breakdown.
She became distracted by it.
Don’t let God’s blessings become distractions. He blesses us with a house, and then we clutter it up and make it a source of anxiety. He blesses us with children and then we gripe about the mess they make and the time and energy they consume.
The answer?
Cut your “to do” list down to one thing! Mary chose the one thing–sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from Him. ‘Well, that’s sounds all nice and good,’ you’re thinking, ‘But it’s not like the people are going to feed themselves or the house is going to do its own cleaning.’
Martha was trying to prepare some food for a Man who could easily call down a feast from heaven. Here’s the deal–He will direct you to the easiest steps. He will cut time and effort off your work. He will give you the right breaks and the necessary wisdom. He will do it all for you as long as you take the time to sit at His feet and learn from Him.
Don’t be fooled by your “to do” list. Heaping more on your plate will not give you the advantages you need to be successful in life. There is only one thing that is truly necessary, and that’s taking the time to learn from Jesus. Draw close to Him and He will take you places in life you could never imagine!
Now it’s your turn! Leave a comment below and tell me if you have ever suffered “to do list anxiety” and share what YOU are going to do to change this around! Remember, I love you and I’ve got your back!
~ Hannah
Hannah Keeley was once in overwhelmed mom living in a cluttered house, deep in debt, out of shape, and barely hanging on. But one day, after finding herself sobbing uncontrollably into a pile of clean laundry, she realized God has bigger and better plans for her (just like He does for each one of His children). Beginning that day, she began making changes in her life that took her from overwhelmed to overjoyed. Today, she’s helping moms do the same. Hannah, her husband, Blair, and their seven children live in Richmond, Virginia, and are having the time of their lives!
Check out Hannah’s Website Here!
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I love this. I actually read the story of Mary and Martha in my studies a few months ago and since then have tried to prioritize what I do. I’ve been used the method where you rate things based on how important and urgent they are. Important (that I personally handle them) and urgent things (like work things) get done right away, and then instead of jumping straight to the urgent but not important things like I used to, I move onto the important things with no deadline, like calling my mom or serving my neighbors. I try to delegate or eliminate the urgent but unimportant things (like the dog’s accident on our carpet last week. It was urgent that it got taken care but it was’t important that I personally do it, so I called the carpet cleaners instead). The most important things to me, like service and showing up for people, are often the things that aren’t as urgent, so making time for them is so important. Mary is such a great example of this! Thank you for sharing this beautiful post!