I’m a list maker. I’m convinced that if I don’t write something down, I’ll never remember and it’ll never get done. My To-Do list has grown to a massive length, taking on a life of its own. Things that I know I won’t have time for until I retire still have a spot on that list.

Each week I take my list of undone things from the week before, mix in the new must-do items, and mentally pour them out in front of me like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I pick up one piece at a time and hunt for a spot where it might fit; and if  I can’t find one, I move on to the next piece, sometimes jamming pieces in where they’re not supposed to be.

And then God interrupted my plans. I got bronchitis. It got worse. And my list disintegrated.

As usual, I had more things I wanted to do last weekend than hours. I had to let them all go. About all the energy I can muster today is to write this blog.

When I started my new full-time job, I didn’t remove anything permanently from my schedule. I just do some things less frequently and only on weekends. And by weekend, I really mean just Saturdays since I fight to guard my Sabbath rest days. How did I expect extra time to materialize on its own?

To give you an idea of the depths to which my insanity has plunged, here’s a sampling of just a few of the things I hoped to accomplish in one day off:

• Go to the big annual homecoming weekend at a Romanian church nearby. That means speaking Romanian, which is very taxing to my brain this many years since I left. Letting this one go hurt the most.
• Plant pansies and mums.
• Go out to dinner and a movie with my husband.
• Get some exercise – a walk or bike ride.
• Chat with my neighbors. Get coffee with one who’s having an especially difficult time.
• Work on a talk I’ll be giving soon for the girls in Cru.
• Meet with a young woman from my church who I mentor.
• Visit my parents.
• Take a drive to see the emerging fall colors.
• Clean the house and do laundry.
• Work on my next article for the newspaper.

Everything on that list is a good thing. Many involve ministering to other people. Put them all together and it’s just too much. Do you have too much on your list?

God freed up my schedule, against my will. Maybe He’s trying to tell me something.