Thursday, January 15, 2009

Priorities

Can you tell I'm on the New Years Resolution train and its full speed ahead?

Yesterday it was about money.Today, its about priorities.

And wouldn't you know it (totally the way God speaks to me) this morning my friend Cindy sent an email with the following...

A person was presented an empty jar, several golf balls, pebbles, and sand by a professor. He was asked to figure out how all the objects would fit into the jar. The man told the professor that it’s impossible to fit all of the items into the small jar; "There's not enough room," he said.

The professor began to show how to fit them all in. First, lace the golf balls into the jar, then add the pebbles and then pour the sand over top of the golf balls and pebbles. As the sand cascaded over the balls and pebbles inside the jar it became clear to the man that all of the items WILL FIT if approached in the right order.

The professor enlightened the man even further by asking the man to imagine the jar as his life with the golf balls representing the most important elements in his life (family/friends/church). Then, imagine the pebbles as the next most important elements (work/projects outside the home). Finally, imagine the sand as all the other items in our life that "get in the way"; the items that we feel or believe are as important as the golf balls and pebbles.

Amazing that if you take care of the golf balls first and then make time for the pebbles, the sand will find a place – a way - to settle into your life.


I wonder how my husband and Olivia feel about being compared to a golf ball. :-)

I think I'm going to start speaking in this language. I picture myself in a meeting later this afternoon, saying something to the effect of: "I don't have time for that sand right now - I've got a pebble to deal with." ;-)

1 comment:

Kev&Rob said...

I love, and relate to, this analogy. You are one of my GOOFBALLS - oops, I mean Golfballs. Love, Mom (the original goofball).