Rocks

It's Friday afternoon. Our house is seriously in need of cleaning (especially because we have friends coming over tonight). And, let's be honest, most of what needs cleaning is a result of my craft projects. Maybe one day I'll have a craft room. Anyway, rather than getting busy cleaning while Laurel naps, I thought I should write a blog entry. So, here I am.

This past Sunday our church service consisted of a time of worship through music and then a time of quiet reflection, aided by 5 different stations around the sanctuary. Each station had a series of thoughts and questions listed for us to think about. Laurel was very tired and not really interested in quiet reflection, so Jon and I took turns walking with her while the other one spent time at a station. Even with our scatteredness, we both walked away grateful for the space to think.

At home that night we shared some of our thoughts. One of the questions that had stirred something in both of us was this simple question: "If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?" It led us into a conversation about our priorities and whether or not we live the things we say we value.

That led us to talk using the metaphor of the big rocks. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it, but just in case you're not, here's how it goes....Picture an empty jar that you need to fill with a pile of different sized rocks and sand. When you put the sand and the little rocks in first, you'll find that there isn't room for all of the big rocks. But when you put the big rocks in first, the sand and the smaller rocks can fit in around them. So, the idea is that we should put the things that we really value in our lives first and let the smaller things fill in the gaps, rather than the other way around.

As Jon and I talked, we realized there is one big rock that never seems to make it in our jar. After deciding that we do, indeed, want this big rock in the jar, we started making plans to make it happen. In the big scheme of things, it's probably not a big deal. But I'm excited to see how we will start to live out our values more consistently, just by making intentional space in our lives.

And...in unrelated news...Laurel's first tooth has broken through! And, I believe she is now awake...no cleaning got done during this nap.