Orderliness

I'm a list maker. Confession is the first step to recovery right? I have lists all over the place with hopes that the more organized I am, the better our lives will be. There are lists in the kitchen that organize all of the chores, lists of things that must be done today, lists of blogs I want to write, grocery lists that never get completely checked off, wish lists for everyone in my house, and the ever popular "honey do" list. I even have a list on the wall beside my washing machine to calculate the number of loads we do hoping that the list will help us cut back on the endless mounds of laundry. As I go through all of this I wonder, "Why do I still forget important things like the milk and to iron Ray's shirt? Why is it impossible to step into my walk in closet or fold laundry on the laundry room counter?"
God is the God of Order. He set down principles for us in Scripture at creation. There is an order to do what we do so that in the end we would have time to rest and worship. Sunday afternoon, as I was rushing around trying to get the house ready for church, I was wondering again if I would ever be able to actually have a day of rest. I had to remind myself that God would have me to come in to the worship service in a calm and relaxed way. So I took the time to get a twenty minute nap and pray for a few minutes. My prayer consisted mostly of me trying not to worry that the house is not perfectly clean, and that I would be more focused on those things that God would have me to focus.
I know that to have order in our homes we don't need all the latest electronic tools, Daytimer systems or endless lists. We need a change of heart. Our heart needs to be following after God and being willing to make the tough decisions. We need to cut out activities or let some things go that may not need to be done as often as we would like. Maybe reorganizing the closet or washing windows isn't as important as reading another book to a little one. It might be okay to go weeks in a row without polishing the appliances in order to let yourself rest. Ecclesiastes makes it clear that there is a time for everything we need to do. It may be that teaching cursive doesn't need to start until after Valentines get made or learning every history date can go a little slower in order to spend a little more time on Bible reading. Now, I must take the right amount of time figuring out what it is that God would have me do first.