Rocks – a meaning for life

Having just completed a series on the Christian family, it
has been of interest to me to pick up the following article sent to me by an
interested reader and we print it here in full for your consideration. We
suggest you photocopy this and put it on the fridge door and read it carefully
day by day, that the essential things in your family life may not suffer in any
way but that your priorities are clearly set out:

1. The Lord
2. The family
3. The Lord's work
4. Other things like your job, sport, etc

I trust this will be a blessing to you as it has been to us:

"A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some
items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large
empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in
diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it
was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into
the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar
was full. They agreed it was.

The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. 'Now,'
said the professor, 'I want you to recognise that this is your life. The rocks
are the important things -– your family, your partner, your health, your
children -– things that if everything else was lost and only they remained,
your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job,
your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put
the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The
same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small
stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your
partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house,
give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first -– the
things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand'."