time

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Psalm 90:12

I have four children.  To be honest, they range between teens and early twenties, so not really children anymore at all.  Forgive my bias, but they are exceptional humans and if I weren’t their mother I would certainly want them for friends.  As it turns out, I have the blessing of both. 

Thinking back on the early years, there is one piece of advice I heard more than any other.  If you are a parent, you already know the one I mean:

“Enjoy every moment, because the time goes so fast!” 

I didn’t believe then what I know now to be true. The days may be long but the years are short.  Valuing the time, seizing the day, makes all the difference in a life well lived.

Andy Stanley, in his book Ask It, brings clarity to the way we steward our time.   He describes the cumulative value of investing in things over a long period of time.  The principle proves true in saving money, exercising regularly, mastering a musical instrument, strengthening a marriage, and investing in the lives of our children.  Many of the decisions that we make daily, shape and strengthen our future with a huge cumulative value over the long haul.  The same, however, is true for the things we neglect.  Ignore good nutrition for one meal and you will be fine, ten years and the effects can be irreversible.  We are inclined to live in the moment rather than invest in the future. 

The temptation to just kill time and to put off what is truly important may be the boldest of thieves.  The prayer of the psalmist is a prayer for all of us.  We need to number our days.  We need hearts of wisdom.  We need the reminder to not waste our time and instead live with intention and purpose.

I want to grow in Christlikeness, but like anything, simply wishing for it won’t make it happen.  It takes both surrender and the discipline of time well spent.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

A couple of years ago I became impacted about the how the concept of tithing could include my time.  It was interesting to me how clear in Scripture the instruction is to give joyfully, and how important the ‘why’.  I left that period of searching with absolute clarity about this:  Our loving Father knows that on our own we will hold our things far too tightly.  By default, our relationship with Him and our relationships with others are held too loosely, too casually, too carelessly.  We need constant reminding that every good gift is from God, He has given to us with abundance and it is all His anyway. This is a matter of the heart. Yet, if we are honest, in a country with our needs easily met and our debts paid by automatic withdrawal, tithing our money can be a small sacrifice, hardly felt. And our time?  Well there never seems like quite enough of that either.

Our days, crammed with interruptions and the demands of all our responsibilities, can leave little room for seeking the Lord.  I believe that all of our days are in God's hands and our time belongs to Him. The way we spend it is a gift of our gratitude.  Here is the sacrifice that costs us something.  

My early mornings are spent in the Word and with strong coffee.  They are the sweetest moments of my day.  What began as an act of simple discipline, is now the place of my strengthening. 

Now, believe me, it is still hard to get up some days (okay lots of days), to trade a warm, cozy bed for a cool, dark house.  But here I have experienced the richness of God’s presence, just as He promised.  He surely has opened the windows of heaven and poured out His blessing (Malachi 3:10). Even on the hardest and most demanding of days, words of truth remind me that he is working all things out for good (Rom 8:28).

This I know to be true: 
Time is our most precious commodity.  

There are endless possibilities for good, and opportunities for change in each new day.  It is not too late to put down the phone, to reorder our days so that we may invest in the people and things that matter most. 

All the church ladies were right, you know.  The time does go fast.