A little bit of self help journaling...

Feeling like I'm spinning out of control. No direction. Bouncing from one area of my life to the next....accomplishing nothing.

As i was wallowing in self pity about how behind i seem to be in every area of my life,
I thought about an object lesson i once saw.
It was about priorities.

If you take a mason jar and fill it to the top with rocks it's full, right?
Not really.
You can pour in gravel and it will find room in some of the dead space.
Now is it full?
No. You can pour in some sand and it will fill all the nooks and crannies.
Now it's full, right?
Nope. You can pour in water until it reaches the brim and that water will fill all of the space that remains.
Now it's full.

So, what happens if you put the water in first, then the gravel and sand and then the rocks?
The rocks will never fit.
You will never have room for those rocks that were so important in the first place.

I think I've been filling my jar with water and sand first. It's a very frustrating to know that some people fit all of it into the jar and for some reason, you just can't seem to make it all fit! What the heck is wrong?!

My priorities have been a bit out of wack.

It's time to re-prioritize my life.

So what's most important in this crazy life of mine?
My family.
What are the things I do or can do in my life that is the most important for my family?
Family and personal prayer and scripture study. Regular family home evening, temple attendance and date nights (it's good to have sane parents).

It seems simple enough.

If those are the rocks that are so important, the things I know are the most important things to have in my mason jar, why don't i just put them in?!
Because.
Because when i go to fill my mason jar, i see the laundry. I see the clutter in my house, the cleaning. I remember the books i promised to get from the library for my child's report. I remember the laundry list of things that weigh on my mind daily in trying to build our house.
I see all those things screaming so loud for my attention that I quickly gather them up and try shoving them into my jar.

All of the things I put in my jar are important.
They all need to be there, I can't leave any of them out.
So i struggle everyday trying to figure out how to make it all fit.

And I get frustrated.

It never all fits.

And then, my lightbulb moment.
Maybe, if i put them in in a different order, they would fit.

So, this is my re-commitment to try again.
Dump everything out of my mason jar and start again with the rocks.

I'm sure as the craziness in my life comes and goes, I'll get antsy and impatient again and try to shove everything into my jar in whatever order I come across it first.

And, I will need this reminder again.
So, I'll blog it.
A permanent reminder, a recipe of sorts, of how to fill my mason jar.