One Thing...

Silence. ahhh. Sweet silence. This is a rare commodity in my life now a days. Between the hustle and bustle of Jimmy and his band coming and going and me learning how to interpret and respond to the cries of our daughter, there is usually quite a lot of activity in the Needham home. But currently, Jimmy is sleeping off his 8 hour drive home last night, and Lively is taking her afternoon nap. (Of course, as soon as I finished that last sentence, Lively woke up crying with gas pains. It is now a few hours later.)

Anyway... I do greatly relish silence when it does happen. And while I usually have many other things to do in these brief moments of stillness, today I decided to write. I have begun to enjoy writing more and more through the years. I think it is because I understand things most fully when I get to explain them or teach them to others. It is when I am sharing what God is doing in my life that I fully understand and appreciate it.

Lately, the lesson I seem to be relearning over and over again is the importance and priority of my relationship with God. Basic, yes. Fundamental, yes. But somehow I seem to still choose to put God on the back burner. Why? I guess in the moment I convince myself that other things are more important. Or I make excuses like, "I'll spend time with God later today" (which of course NEVER happens). Why do I choose other things over Him again and again? Have you ever felt this way?

"I consider all things a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Chirst." - Philippians 3:7-8

These verses were on my letter jacket in high school, and still to this day I feel as if they are the theme of my life. They testify to the joyfulness I experience in keeping Christ first and expose everything I put above Him as the rubbish that they really are. Some days they cause rejoicing in my heart, other days conviction.

Today, I read those verse and feel conviction.

Keeping our house clean is a loss compared to the SURPASSING GREATNESS of know Jesus.

Answering all my emails is a loss compared to the SURPASSING GREATNESS of know Jesus.

Getting a few extra hours of sleep is a loss compared to the SURPASSING GREATNESS of know Jesus.

Watching my favorite tv show is a loss compared to the SURPASSING GREATNESS of know Jesus.

EVERYTHING is a loss compared to the SURPASSING GREATNESS of know Jesus. When will I learn this lesson for good? Maybe I never will. Maybe every day for the rest of my life I will have to choose again to believe this sweet promise that there is only ONE THING that matters. There is only ONE THING that should have first place in my heart. JESUS. Lord, give me the heart of Mary who chose to sit at Your feet and listen to Your Word. You said of her, "Only ONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen the better part." (Luke 10:42)