PRIORITIZING THE RIGHT THINGS

Spring is here and it looks like the thick fog of sickness and winter is beginning to lift. 2019 feels like it's been filled with constant illness, reassessing, and rescheduling - which makes it feel like we've been a lot less productive than we'd hoped we would be. 

Some seasons of life are slower and more challenging than others. We try hard to keep things moving forward, but it can feel defeating when it seems like your wheels are constantly spinning and you can't get any traction. That's what these past few months have felt like. I stepped back from my normal routine to focus on caring for my family and kicking the worst case of the flu I've ever encountered. This meant that a lot of things were placed on hold and rescheduled. There were some moments in the middle of everything that I just felt discouraged. Discouraged for having to reschedule time with friends, for not making progress on goals and projects, for not being able to do much of anything.

Back in September of 2018, Calvin and I put together a family mission statement. This statement outlined the things that were most important to our family. This document is meant to be one of the ways we determine which things we will say yes to and which things we will say no to.  We have this statement posted on our fridge at home and it caught my eye yesterday and I read over it again. After reading it I began thinking back on the first part of 2019 and it suddenly looked quite different. We made a commitment to focus our time and energy in a few specific areas, with a high-priority given to intentional investment in the lives of our little family. These last few months have been hard, but they have been highly productive because we have been focusing on and prioritizing the right things. I'm not sure why it takes so long to have these moments of revelation - but I'm so thankful for 2019 because it has brought our family closer together, awakened contentment, and delivered a sweet peace.

Define the things that are most important and pour into them. That's what being productive truly is.

|  Credits: Author - Jacintha Payne; Photography - Calvin and Jacintha Payne  |