One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business
students. To drive home a point, he used an illustration those students will never
forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said,
"Okay, it is time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar
and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks
and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top
and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." The management expert asked, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped
some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down
into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more,
"Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them
answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket
of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left
between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?
" No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of
water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.

At this point he looked at the class and asked,
"What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full
your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point.
The truth this illustration teaches us is:
If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your children; Your loved ones;
Your education; Your dreams; A worthy cause; Teaching or mentoring others;
Doing things that you love; Time or yourself; Your health; Your significant other.
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.
If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little
things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality
time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story,
ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life?
Then, put those in your jar first. Don't forget God!