Have you ever had a list that felt endless?

Where the tasks pile so high, that you can’t see the top?

I can’t remember who said it to me, but it has returned to me many, many times over.

As I sat at the kitchen bench journaling the list of things that were at the forefront of my brain, I filled 3.5 pages without stopping.

I am not proud of this.

This list reflected a bunch of things that I had allowed in, adopted or had pushed upon me – that I hadn’t stopped to process.

As I sat there, feeling a little better for having created a list – at least it was out of my working memory – now I realised why I’d been feeling so weary of late.

They wouldn’t be anything too surprising to you, family, work, situations, church, writing, book releases, social media etc..etc…etc…

I asked God what I was supposed to do with this list.

I felt the line return to my heart – Time to Triage.

When someone comes into a hospital in Australia (although I’m certain this is global) a nurse triages the patient who comes in.

They ask a bunch of questions and work out how urgent the need is.

Does this patient need to be rushed into surgery, or can they wait a few hours until a doctor becomes available?

This very ordinary, but very burdening list was about to get triaged.

I sensed His gentle prompt.

“Go through your list and decide what are the things you can’t do anything about. Mark them as prayers.”

That’s a great idea! Thank you Lord!

This list shrank from many to half of what it was – with one key question.

“Now go through the list and put a number one beside the things that must be done immediately.”

I did this and found there were only a handful of tasks that were urgent.

“Mark the items on the list, that can wait for later.”

This list shrank from a few, to nothing.

The list had been triaged!

I felt the air returning to my lungs.

My brain felt hopeful and able to broach the small list in front of me.

I spent a while praying through the list and giving those prayer things back to God.

I felt less overwhelmed and more able to tackle what was in front of me.

I know this is something I am going to do again, and again.

How do you process tasks? What helps you navigate busy seasons? Do you Triage during busy times?

Comment below and let’s help one another in this.

Until next time, let me bless you with a simple prayer for busy seasons.

Father,

please bless my sweet friend with Your peace.

I pray that their internal world would be stilled, their mind would be quieted so

that Your voice can be heard by them clearly today.

Please show them what can wait,

what is for prayer, and what needs to be actioned immediately.

I ask You to take their hand and guide them through this season, helping them to navigate

its intricacies and depths.

Help us, Lord, to triage life, relationships, busyness, technology, finance requests, requirements and demands.

Show us how to do this better than ever before, with You.

We trust You.

We love You.

in Jesus’ name, amen.

(If you would like to keep in touch, and receive more encouraging content like this, sign up for my encouraging news.

karenbrough.com and receive some wonderful freebies including some art declaration cards and 100 Most relaxing movies for when your heart is raw.)