What Matters?

There's a question that has been on my heart lately.

What matters? I mean...what really matters?

I spent hours cleaning our townhome, and staging the furniture and decorations so that it looked 'just right'. I bought fresh flowers to have on our table, and replenished them as soon as they started looking less than beautiful. I spent my nights after the girls were in bed going over there, and picking up every little piece of lint on the carpet, or wiping off every speck of dust on the furniture.

And last night, we started undoing it all. The candles came down off of the walls, and off of the tables. The fresh flowers were tossed in the trash. Furniture is now being moved into the garage which we worked so hard to have emptied. (So that it would look big).

So did it matter that I spent all that time?

I spend most of my days cleaning the house. Washing dishes, and picking up the same toys that I just picked up hours before. Doing laundry, and putting it away just in time to start all over again. Cooking meals, just to wash up the dishes after the meal has been enjoyed.

So the question is...what are the things that matter?

Am I investing my time and energy into the things that will last? The things that will matter years from now?

Am I listening to my children when they need me? Or am I asking them to leave me alone so that I can clean? Am I asking them to play by themselves while I do laundry, and tend to chores that will only be undone in a short time?

I know that there are things that need to be done. Cleanliness is important. Clean clothes are important. Healthy meals are important.

But what really matters to me is the time and love I invest in my children. In my husband. In my friends. In time nurturing my relationship with God.

The other things seem so urgent, so pressing. But are they really? Are they so urgent that my daughters' needs get pushed aside?

This is the question on my heart today.....