Pursuing What Matters

The past few days, I have been going through areas of our home that need a little “extra attention”, to put it kindly. During the busy winter months, things have gotten thrown here and there, and it’s time to put everything back in it’s rightful place. And while doing so, I can’t help but think:

Sometimes my life feels like that middle school locker that is filled with a moldy cheese stick and liquid carrots that started out fresh and crunchy. A cluttered, old, and moldy mess. Needless to say, I’ve needed to do a little spring cleaning, not only of our home, but also of my life. Not that I have felt that what I’m doing or pursuing is wrong, but is what I am doing and pursuing, really matter?

I am a big believer in experiences. Whether it be going to a new place, trying something new, putting something in my mouth that others think should stay in the ocean (ps…I LOVE sushi), or talking with those you see or meet on a daily basis. I’ll admit, I’m one to strike up a conversation with a random stranger while waiting in line at the checkout. It’s usually not some profound idea or comment, but often a “hello” to the kid who keeps looking at me, or smiling at the person behind me. To me, that’s a conversation – it’s telling that person they matter.

Experiences matter. They shape who we are, for better or for worse. Experiences are often how we see beyond our current state and realize there is a much bigger picture outside of ourselves. I speak as one whose life is filled with many medications, appointments, at-home monitoring activities, and doctor’s appointments, where sometimes it’s hard to see beyond my present heart disease. But what I often find, is that when I look for experiences outside of my heart disease, I find that so often, I am distracted with my current circumstances, that I miss what really matters. And then in turn, fail to pursue it.

For instance, I like to keep things organized; hence my desire to declutter the areas that need a little extra attention. But I can get caught up with keeping up our home, that I forget about serving the people who live within it. I’m a firm believer in order and how a picked up home is good for EVERYONE’S mental health (I could write a book on that idea), but there is a balance there too.

Sometimes I need to hit the reset button on my life and stop distracting myself with things that maybe don’t really matter as much as I might think they do. So what’s the gauge?

When you are in the business of pursuing what matters, think about what clutter you have added to your life. What moldy cheese and liquid carrots you’ve allowed to sit in your life a bit too long. What is filling your time? Your planner? Your family’s life? What experiences have shaped you and what experiences do you want to add to your life, to ensure that what you are pursuing, matters not only now, but in this life to come?

Don’t look around you for answers because this world is often only pursuing the things that matter at this moment. Look upward and ask God to give you wisdom and discernment on what HE might be leading your towards and leading you away from, to ensure moldy cheese doesn’t end up in your “locker” of life.