Priorities

Our truck all lit up with Dallas in the background.

I know I haven't blogged in a long time. While I may have been able to carve out time to blog, truth is, I had other priorities. We have been quite busy doing a great many other things. We have switched companies, which meant we turned in our 2013 53' trailer, and bought a 2000 48' trailer. We spent a long time at home during that time. We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving, organized the truck, and organized the house quite a bit. We started making plans for what we would do with the house, and how we might be able to make it work.  While at home we were able to go on two homeschool outings, and finally got to meet quite a few people I have gotten to know through Facebook. It was definitely great spending time at home, and yet the road is where I feel more at home than ever.

Everywhere we go, people are amazed at what we do (homeschooling on the road). The one question asked most frequently is, "How do you do it?" I always answer the same way, prioritize. 

Isn't life in general a matter of prioritizing things? Sure, we can choose to sit in front of the television and veg out, but then we aren't putting a priority on other things, like family, health, etc. If you look at what you spend time doing throughout the day, you will see what priority drives your life. Is sitting, watching television, playing games on your phone, or any other solitary activity bad? No. However, if you claim your family is your priority, and yet you spend time locked into something that excludes your family, you aren't being honest with yourself. 

I spent a great deal of time at home getting honest with myself. I have spent the last year comparing myself to other mothers (both homeschooling moms and mothers who send their kids to school), other drivers, other wives, other business owners, and even my sisters. I have decided that I am not going to be concerned with where I measure up to someone else's measuring stick, God will only measure me according to what I was destined to be. No one else's thoughts about my life matter. I am me. Getting honest with myself has led me to really examine my priorities. I say I value family, and yet I too am guilty of excluding others. I say I value my health, and yet exercise is not something I really even want to figure out how to do on the truck. I say I value the time cooking and teaching my daughter to do the same thing, however we regularly eat out. That leads to spending money I say I desperately want to save. I say I want to write, and yet I don't. The question is how do I get things back in line?

Over the past six months there have been several people who have chosen to block out social media because it was taking over their lives. I respect those that choose to do it, because I realize this is simply a reaction to being convicted of misplaced priorities. I am not getting on that band wagon, but I am trying to continually examine what my life says about my priorities. That does mean I am going to limit my time on social media, and really looking at how my time lines up with my priorities. 

Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” When my priorities show that I am serving myself and this world, rather than my God and my family, I know things are not right. I am thankful to have a loving God that can remind me when my life has gotten off kilter, and kindly guide me back to what is important, Him. It is because I felt His guiding that we started on the journey to homeschool. I am thankful every day he gives me the strength and time to complete schoolwork, and the many other things I have put on my plate. God is good.

As the year has changed, perhaps too will my ability to recognize when my priorities have gotten off kilter. I pray everyone reading will listen to the calm guiding when your life gets a little off track.