I heard about a group of business students being addressed by an expert on time-management. He pulled out a big glass jar and set it on a table and then filled it with rocks. He asked this group of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed over-achievers, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” He then got some gravel and added it to the jar and, as he shook the jar, it filtered down between the bigger rocks.
“Is the jar full now?” No answer… they weren’t going to be fooled twice.
Then he took out some sand and poured it into the jar and it flowed into the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. “Is the jar full now?” Then he poured water over the rocks and sand until the jar was filled to the brim.
“What can you learn from this?” One eager beaver raised his hand and suggested, “No matter how full your schedule is, you can always fit in something more!”
“No! The lesson is, if you don’t get the big rocks in first, you won’t get it all in.”
What are the big rocks in our life? Of course money and career and education are important but they are just pebbles compared to good health or a peaceful mind. And if we are parents, quality times with our kids are much bigger rocks than just about anything else.
Don’t let these years with your kids fly past in a blur of busy-ness. Have some big rock times today.