I’m sure by now it’s an urban myth, but the story goes that there was a teacher who had a container. He filled it with rocks and asked the class if the container was full. They responded “yes.” He then took sand and poured it into the container. The sand filled the space between the rocks. Again he asked his class if the container was full. Again the class affirmed that statement. Finally he poured in water. The water filled the space between the sand.

I don’t remember what the point of the lecture was supposed to be, but to me this is an analogy for our priorities. We can fill our lives with little priorities that are insignificant, and it leaves no room for the larger priorities. However, if we first fill our lives with the important priorities, we can then fill the available space with lesser priorities.

What small priorities are taking up too much space in your life? Remember, these priorities might be standing in the way of your dreams.