I just celebrated another birthday. Whereas I am not ashamed of the years that have been credited to my life, I still don’t like to advertise them. Suffice it to say that my age is a prime number. And yet, there are still areas of my life where “things” need to be worked out. By that I mean I see myself acting and reacting to certain situations the way I did as a child, a teen, and an unconverted individual. No, these are not tendencies that would end me up in a scandal, but they are evidences that God is not done with me yet.
Some examples:
I have a habit of hanging on to almost everything. Now, this has its merits as I am able to save a considerable amount of money by not having to own the latest in style, fashion, or gadgetry. In fact, I still use the same laundry basket I purchased at a garage sale almost forty years ago for fifty cents. It still works, so I see no need to dispose of it. Yet, I have an amazing collection of single earrings, socks, empty essential oil bottles, and broken kitchen gadgets that are no longer useful. What’s worse, I keep moving them out of the way in order to get to things I need to use.
My hanging on to the things that are no longer useful reflects some hope that maybe someday they will be brought back to usefulness, in spite of the fact that I know better. Additionally, as long as they take up space as clutter, I am depriving myself of replacing them with something that will benefit me or just having uncluttered space. I recently realized this is analogous to hanging on to attitudes and perspectives that no longer have a place inside my Biblical worldview and need to be replaced.
One such attitude is the tendency to give higher priority to the activities of my life, whether work related or personal, than to the people who cross my path. This is not to demean the work or recreation I do, but I have come to appreciate the practice of placing people over things. So, I have determined that it is more important to visit with the acquaintance I run into at the grocery store than to stay on schedule with my shopping. The family member who calls at the time I am about to do something else gets my full attention. And, even the most annoying or ill-timed request from a member of my family, should be met with gratitude that I can still be useful to others.
I imagine that as God allows me to accumulate more birthdays, He will bring to mind other areas of my life that need serious adjustment. Rather than dread that eventuality, I look forward to it. Why? Because it is proof positive that I am not an illegitimate daughter of the King of kings, but rather someone my Father continues to fashion to be more like Christ. That puts me in the prime of life.
The Kingdom-Driven Family 