Don't you love it when it feels like you are really listening to God?

This morning I was reading about "seek ye first the kingdom of God..." and I was struck by the "all these things..." element. Those things that I struggle to let go of still matter to God. He doesn't ask me to give them up and let them go because they don't matter. He doesn't say forget about that. He says, I care about them too, let me handle them. You seek my kingdom, I'll take care of "all these things." I have a hard time letting go of this thing because I'm afraid that God won't take care of it the way that I want Him to; it won't end up looking like the picture I have in my head. And I turned a corner in my heart and there was my idol. The problem here is the pictures I have in my head of what my little kingdom should look like and I won't trust God with all of those things because I'm afraid he won't do it the way I'm picturing it. A picture, an image: an idol.

Exercise/Fitness. It's not that God doesn't care about it; He's not saying, "give it up, it doesn't matter!" (although it could be argued, in light of eternity what does it matter?) He's saying, pursue MY vision of life and trust MY plans, do it MY way. Before I start on my next workout plan or eating plan, ask what His vision for it is. Step back and stop to see what that would look like in His kingdom; what priority it should take in the grand scheme.

And this applies to everything. My house (clean, dirty, organized, or not). My kids (how I or the world expects them to turn out vs. how God expects them to turn out). My husband (what does "Prince Charming" look like in my head or what does God ultimately have planned for him). And everything else I find myself worrying and stressing about from moment to moment.

Excuse me if I'm stating the obvious. I realize that this is very familiar ground. It's all about my expectations and how high I set them because I'm trying to achieve my image of perfect.

And they're never going to get there. There will always be more to do. But, if I step back. If I seek God's vision. If I set my goals according to that and then accept grace to make up the difference. There! That is freedom!