Protect the Front Row

As I got ready one morning, my husband comes in to the bathroom and asks, “Are you ready to turn on all the lights yet?” After being up all night coughing, and very little sleep, a full blast of lights was the last thing I wanted. Plus, I know where everything is my cabinets and drawers, and very little light was needed. At least I thought I knew where everything was.

We tend to be creatures of habit. I have a typical routine of how I get ready in the morning and typical places of where I find what I need to get ready and the place in which those items are returned. I always know where to find what I need, that is until this morning. As I was going to grab my eye cream, I realized it was not in its typical spot and the search began. The usual place for my eye cream is at the front of the cabinet, but a couple of weeks ago, I got out of the habit of using it, and in my lack of use, it slowly got pushed to the back with other products that are occasionally used.

I hadn’t purposely pushed my eye cream out of the way and in my mind, I sincerely thought it remained in it’s place at the front of the cabinet with the other important items used on a daily basis. But, that’s what happens to the untouched, unused things in lives, doesn’t it? They slowly get moved from the forefront of our lives, and replaced with something else.

As I looked at that front row of items in my cabinet, I saw what appeared to be most important and mostly used in my day to day. What I thought was one of my most important items for daily use was no longer there, front and center, but had made its way back to being next to the hydrogen peroxide. Why? Because I stopped using it.

In that moment, the Holy Spirit asked me, “What is on the front row of your life?” What things are front and center because it’s being used often and daily? And even more convicting, what is no longer on the front row of your life due to lack of use? Yes, I know the immeasurable value of God’s word and the tremendous power of prayer, but when I take a front row look of my life, do I find them there?

 Life tends to be busy and many things fight for our attention but I’m thankful for God’s reminder to protect the front row of my life, to purposefully keep Him front and center, and to remove those items that seek to take His place.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”Matthew 6:33