 I saw my life in the wrong way for 10 years, yeah. Okay, so I love to-do lists. I'll take any opportunity I can to make a list, a grocery list, a reading list, a chore list, a goal list. It makes me feel accomplished, productive, and in control. I took that same mentality of a to-do list and applied it to how I saw my life. Benchmarks to reach, tasks to complete, and plans to arrange. But what happened when something would go wrong? I would ask God, what is he doing? Have you not read my to-do list? I need to get this stuff done. Okay, but here's the thing. God is not writing you a to-do list. No, God is writing you a story. To-do lists focus on tasks to complete. Stories focus on bringing together both successes and failures for greater character development and a more compelling story. When I realized this, my life changed. I got out of the mentality of self-preservation and I began to take risks and step into the compelling story that God's writing in my life. Stop living the to-do list and start living the story.