I have found that most people can be separated into two broad categories – those who make lists and those who form stacks.  I am a stack person.  I stack things, on my desk, in my closet, on my shelves.  There are stacks of papers on my desk, stacks of books on my shelves, stacks of clothes in my closet.    It may appear to some that I am unorganized, however, I can usually locate most anything fairly quickly, because I remember its general location in one of the many stacks that surround me on a regular basis.   And by process of elimination, eventually, I will find it. 

I am not, by nature, a list maker.  I just do not think that way.  I am a scribbler.  I will write something down on whatever is handy at the time, a piece of paper, a napkin, an old envelope or a note pad.   That has its challenges, as I have become painfully aware.  The only place I almost always require a list is the grocery store.  I will inevitably forget something every time I go to the store without a list. There are so many temptations and distractions that I always leave with something I had not planned to purchase and without something I had gone there to get. 

Consider the layout of a typical grocery store.  You walk in the door and immediately you are met with fresh flowers, the smell of bread baking, brightly colored fruits and vegetables all places strategically to capture your attention.  You have to walk all the way through the store to the very back to get milk, bread and meat, the staple items people regularly shop for most.    And then you must walk through the entire store again to check out, only to face the tempting tabloids with the latest sensationalized scenario to be splashed across the front pages,  as well as the candy bars, bubble gum, breath mints, nail clippers and lip balm no self-respecting person would ever be caught without.   Often, by the time you leave the store, the cart is stacked full of things that tickle the tongue, but do little to feed the body.  It is a clearly a conspiracy to capure well meaning folks in a web of temptations and distractions.

I can’t tell you how many times I have walked into the store without a list intending to get a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, or some other staple item, and a few other items to go along with it, only to leave with something I did not intend to buy and having forgotten something important I really needed.   I have learned the importance of making a list.  It helps me remember what is essential.

The spiritual journey of getting to that which can care for and feed our souls is similar to a journey through a grocery store.  In order to get to what is really important,  that which is essential for a healthy spiritual life, we must be willing to navigate the temptations and distractions that can keep us from ever getting to the essential, life-giving and spirit sustaining staples such as meditation and prayer, community and communion, word and worship.  We must feed our souls with real, spiritual food to  be healthy and whole. 

How is it with your soul?  What are you feeding on these days?  What temptations are you facing?  What tantalizing sights, sounds and smells are luring you away from what is essential, life-giving and spirit sustaining?   What are you carrying in your cart that ought to be put back on the shelf.   What have you forgotten along the way? 

Have you considered making a list?