What is Pressing? What is Important?

What is pressing……..what is important?

More and more, I’m trying to ask myself that question early in the morning before I actually begin my day. The first phrase is generally easy to answer, in fact, it usually answers itself with a VERY loud voice. Meet this deadline. Get that service planned. Prepare for that rehearsal. Meet with these people. Mow the yard. Fix that drip. Well, you get the picture. And, in all honesty, those are things that must be done, except for fixing the drip.

But the 2nd phrase, “what is important”, is sometimes a bit harder to answer. I think one reason for that is that I have to be still and quiet and give myself TIME to really answer it honestly and correctly. In the busyness of life, sometimes that’s hard and therefore I end up doing the “pressing” things and fail to allow for the “important” things. Perhaps I’m not alone in this. Maybe it’s your struggle too. Maybe you’ve never verbalized it, but reading this has brought a bit of definition to something you’ve felt for a long time.

What is important? My walk with the God of the Bible. My love for and relationship with my wife Judy. Being a father to my three sons and a grandfather to my two grandchildren. Being a blessing as a son to my ageing mother. Being salt and light in a world that desperately needs both. These things don’t scream as loudly as the “pressing”, but ultimately, they are more important. MUCH more important.

I urge you to begin your day asking…..what is pressing today. What MUST I do today? What cannot be ignored? Then, take the next step and ask……BUT, what is really important. What will matter 5, 10, or 20 years from now. What will matter for eternity? That’s how I want to plan and fashion my precious, numbered days here on planet Earth.

“So teach us to number our days, That we may get us a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12

Tony