your agenda

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Your Agenda May Not Be Your Agenda At All

It seems like everyone has an agenda for you, whether you like it or not.

your agenda may not be your agenda at all

People like to impose their agenda on you and sometimes they don’t even realize they’re doing it. 

I went to an eye clinic the other day to follow up on some tests I had had concerning an issue that resulted from my on-ice collision several weeks ago. (You can read about it here).

I was there to get the results from about seven tests they had done on my eyes at the previous appointment.

I was a little concerned going in to see the ophthalmologist because I didn’t think I had done very well on a few of the tests. But when I sat with the eye doctor he really had a different agenda than to give me feedback on the tests.

The eye specialist is no different from anyone else.

When I say to Lily, “I’m going to the store”, her response is always the same – “What store are you going to?” And I know that question means trouble. Either she wants to know where I’m going so that I can pick something up for her, or she wants to come with me.

No matter her response, there is always an agenda in her answer. 

If she wants to come with me, that most likely nixes my agenda for my shopping trip. Somehow the trip becomes Lily’s trip with me just tagging along. We end up going into several women’s clothing stores or a home furnishing store, or stopping at the grocery store for a few items we can’t do without.

And all I wanted was a shirt! So much for my agenda.

Well that’s how I felt at the eye doctor’s. 

He told me my eye structure was similar to one with glaucoma, not that I have or will necessarily ever get it. He wanted me to see an optometrist on a yearly basis so that they could monitor my eye health as I age.

I was kind of discouraged by all that. I just wanted to know how I did on the tests and how my eyes are now. It had been about 27 years since I’d been to an eye doctor and discovered I needed reading glasses. Now, all of a sudden, I was being told I need to be monitored for potential eye issues.  

Feeling a little frustrated, I asked the doc, “How are my eyes now? How did I do on the tests?”

His response was, “Your eyes are very good; you did really well on the tests.”  

There was one I was particularly concerned about and he said I did perfect on that test. 

I walked out of the clinic that day a little miffed that I would be called in a year for another appointment. If I hadn’t have asked, I would not have found out what I wanted to know.

The appointment was all the eye doctor’s agenda, not mine.

Here’s the thing: We all have an agenda for our own lives and an idea of what we think is best for it. There are also other people who will seek to impose their agendas on you. But God has an agenda for you. His agenda is worth joining because God knows you and what’s best for you so His agenda will lead you to the best outcome in the long run. Put you faith in Christ to link with God’s agenda. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Whose agenda are you following these days? Leave you comments and questions below.

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When Your Agenda Is Not Your Agenda

Sometimes you don’t have control over your agenda. Circumstances can take precedence, or a boss may place demands on you, but whatever the case, you know when you are not in control of your day.

your agenda

This weekend I did a lot of hanging around – it was Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. We do it earlier than the States, probably because it gets cold earlier. We’re still harvesting in mid October, but by the time the end of November comes around, places like Saskatchewan and Alberta can be deep in snow.

This Thanksgiving we had our family around and that meant just hanging out and carving each other up as we reminisced of years gone by.

I discovered that with all the family here my agenda was not my own. I didn’t get to do what I wanted when I wanted.  

Even writing this blog didn’t happen early in the morning when I like to write. I was out to the stores three times and each time the purpose was primarily for someone else.

It was interesting because it reminded me of about a twenty year stretch of my life.

When Lily and I were married, we waited about four years before we had kids. In that time our agenda was our own. We did what we wanted when we wanted and for how long we wanted to do it.

But from the moment our first child, Karlie, was born things changed. Our agenda each day was not really our own.

It was high-jacked everyday after that, in some form or fashion, by our kids … until our second child, Mike, moved into his own place.

Then, as quickly and miraculously as we had lost control of our daily agenda, we got it back. 

In fact, we’ve had our agenda back for so long that it’s difficult to remember what life was like when we had a couple of pirates controlling the ship for so many years.

Well “matey”, I guess I just rediscovered what it’s like to have Captains Blackbeard and Jack Sparrow battling for control of the details of our day.  

It’s always interesting – never a dull moment – and there is lots of comedy.

But I’m not doing what I might have planned if I was in control of my agenda.

For one thing I would have had my blog post written long ago. I also would have felt free to do the things that were on my list of things to do. 

… But when I think of what is on my to-do list, there are a whole lot of things I don’t really want to do. 

So the high-jacking of my agenda might not have been a bad thing after all. 

Maybe what’s really at stake for me is the feeling of freedom. Freedom is not a real thing because I’m either tied to my list or someone else’s agenda. 

… For some reason, I just feel more free with my list. 

It’s all moot because everything went back to normal on Monday night. I got my agenda back. 

Here’s the thing: We like our freedom so much that we don’t like to give our agenda up for anyone, even God. But your freedom is really an illusion because there is always someone or something in control of your agenda. It comes down to whether you choose to feel free with God’s agenda or someone else’s. Bob Dylan was right when he sang, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Choose God and choose His freedom.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Who has control of your agenda? Leave you comments and questions below.