Putting your life 'on hold'?

IT seems so easy to do. After the kids are back in school . . . after the weather warms up . . . after things calm down around here, then I'll . . . . Sometimes, though, our good intentions are unfulfilled. ''After'' never comes!

When we see ourselves as victims of procrastination, what can we do? Human will doesn't provide permanent, or the most meaningful, correction. There's a deeper need-to discover what really bases our ability to accomplish anything worthwhile. We can discover what we need to know through active communion with God, through regular, humble prayer.

The Holy Bible points the way. Christ Jesus said, ''Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.'' 1 Jesus taught the value of first turning to God in every endeavor. His life mission was proof of the importance of setting and following the proper priorities-always starting with God. And the results were unparalleled, to say the least! Healing multitudes, feeding thousands when provision seemed almost nonexistent, were among the Master's many accomplishments.

n1 Matthew 6:33.

We, too, can begin to put God first, let Him be the impelling force behind our actions. Then the tendency to procrastinate cannot interfere with our completing necessary tasks. We will find ourselves capable of doing more than may have seemed possible, and able to work well even under adverse circumstances.

Prayer to God, in which we yield to His will and government, shows us the truth that the Bible relates: God made man in His image. Through study of the Bible, and quiet listening for answers to our prayers, we develop a practical appreciation of our likeness to God, of our actual, spiritual selfhood, which is unlimited.

Through prayer we also come to see that because God's power is infinite, no other power actually exists that can block the flow of right doing in our lives. The doing may be as simple as cleaning out a drawer or as major as changing careers. But the Principle underlying its successful completion is the same-God.

In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy2 writes, ''It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony.'' 3 In the same book, this definition of God is offered: ''The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence.'' 4

n2 The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.

n3 Science and Health, p. 390.

n4 Ibid., p. 587.

We don't have to wait to become his children, to receive His support and cherishing love. As John wrote, ''Now are we the sons of God.'' 5 So now, in this present moment, we have the capacity and incentive to act as such.

n5 I John 3:2.

For example, for what seemed to be legitimate reasons, I put off resumption of a career for which I had been trained. Family duties were claiming my time and attention to the exclusion of my own professional progress. I saw that my type of work was needed in the community but felt constrained by the circumstances. It just didn't seem possible to do both, and I was tempted to put the outside activity ''on hold.''

Then, as I turned to God in prayer, the answer began to come. I realized that I could express the same qualities in my domestic life as were required in the professional work, such as diligence, patience, accuracy, and selflessness. These didn't have to be put off-in fact they couldn't be if I was to progress. I was encouraged, and found that I could do the outside work on a part-time basis. The family situation soon adjusted, even improved, because of this commitment to present good, to expressing more of my true nature. And it wasn't long before I was working at it full time, to no one's disadvantage.

The willingness to set aside the limited view of oneself and to turn to God for help is needed if one is to move forward in a meaningful way. The childlike qualities of spontaneity and obedience can be developed as we drop habitual thoughts such as ''I've always been like that'' or ''I don't like change.''

Good doesn't have to be delayed in our lives. Everyone can pray, can exchange material reasoning for divine inspiration. If we see evasion or procrastination looming on the mental horizon, we can immediately turn to God for the true picture. Mrs. Eddy writes, ''Faith in divine Love supplies the ever-present help and now, and gives the power to 'act in the living present.' '' 6 We can all prove this.

n6 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 12. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? Galatians 5:7