Investing in the Important

In my short life of 29 (almost 30) years, I have had to make some difficult decisions. None of them were easy to make and every single one of them came down to priorities. Priorities rule our lives. We make choices every day, some of them big, some of them small, but they are centered around our priorities, what is really important to us. We spend our time, our precious time, on what is important to us.
Since I've started working night shift, and I have very little time, my priorities have become clearer to me, and they have changed dramatically. I've realized more and more what is really important. It's not facebook, or words with friends, or my favorite tv shows. It's time with my husband. It's a good night's sleep (or should I say day's sleep). It's time for a phone call with my family or with a dear friend.
The biggest change in my priorities has been in the value of money. After several years of being unemployed and in school, Corey and I accumulated some debt. So naturally, when I graduated and got a real job, I took the night shift because it paid more. We needed the money to get out of debt and get our finances back on track. Sounds like a good choice right?
Well after a few months of working night shift, it came time to make a difficult decision. A decision that was made by my priorities. My changing priorities. I decided that money was not more important than my marriage. Money was not more important than my friends. Money was not more important than my health. Money was not more important than my having the time and energy to serve in my church. What I was doing was simply not working anymore. So, I made the decision to take less money to work day shift. I know that may not sound like a big deal to you, but it was a big decision for us. For so long, Corey and I haven't had any money. We struggled to pay our bills every single month and money became a very big deal.
The point of all of this is that there comes a point in our lives where we have to choose what is really important to us and sometimes it may take some sort of sacrifice on our part to do what is right and what is best for us and for our families, but I have seen how God blesses people when there priorities line up with His.
I remember when I was younger, my parents were trying to decide if Mom should quit work to stay home with me and be a housewife. Her income was important to our family but Mom and Dad made a decision that time with the family was more important than money and God blessed them for making that decision. When we put God first, when we put our families before other things, God blesses that.
I want to spend my life making decisions based on priorities that are in the right place.I don't want to look back on my life and see that I had plenty of money but not enough memories with my family and friends. I can't take the money with me but the memories and investments I made in relationships last forever. I want to invest in what's important.
What are your priorities? Are you investing your time and energy in things that will last?