The "To Be" List

I am a list maker.  I make intricate "To Do" lists and, I must say, I'm pretty good at it.  I begin in the morning with a blank sheet of notebook paper and then I write down the things I would like to get accomplished in the next 12 hours.

Once I have a list, I review the items and number them in order of importance.  I even plan out the route I will take while completing my errands according to the location of the stores featured on my list, while burning the least amount of petroleum.

I take great pleasure in marking off a completed task.  Sometimes, when I'm feeling theatrical, I will drive through the bank, stop by the post office, and run into the grocery store, before stopping to cross all three of those items off the list.....with much pomp and circumstance.

 But yesterday I thought about creating a different kind of list.  I thought about sending my "To Do" list on sabbatical and replacing it with a "To Be" list.

Today, what do I need "To Be"?  Over the next 12 hours, how do I need to be behaving or how do I need to be treating others?

I can formulate a page-long list in my head even as I sit here typing:  I need to be forgiving, I need to be patient, I need to be kind...

Then I can number those in order of what I need to work on the most according to what I might be struggling with on that particular day.  I can even "plan out the route" for accomplishing tasks on the "To Be" list.  In order "to be forgiving" maybe I need to call an old friend, "to be patient" I should re-read the story of Hannah in the Bible, and "to be kind" I could mail a letter of encouragement to someone in need.

That's when I find that something amazing happens!  My "To Be" list becomes a "To Do" list with a much higher calling.

Because "To Do" lists and I go back a long time, I know I can't let them go completely, but maybe looking at them with a "To Be" attitude will allow for the organizing of my earthly tasks as well as the nurturing of my eternal soul.