How Are You Spending Your Time?

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote the last time. With work and family I only have Saturday mornings to write. The last few weekends I have been away from home on Saturday mornings so I wasn’t able to connect with you. This takes me to the topic I wanted to share with you about today—time.

Time is a very hard concept to explain. We all have the same amount of time yet most of us wish we would have more of it. God created the days to have a certain number of hours, which is what we have decided to call the time intervals that occur during one day. How we choose to spend our time is the key question we each have to answer. Once time passes, we cannot regain it. We cannot reclaim it or reproduce it—ever.  When there are important events in the lives of our loved ones, if we don’t attend, it’s gone. We missed it. We were not there for that person we love.

I have been meditating a lot about the concept of time, how I personally choose to spend my time, and how I can regain some time. I am gaining time by stopping some activities and spending more time with God and the people I love. However, it’s not been easy. For example, I am often asked to serve on non-profit boards and to volunteer to do certain activities. Because of my passion to help non-profits and to help people be successful, I have had to establish a simple process to help me decide which activities to choose. If the non-profit does not align with my personal life’s mission, I gracefully decline the offer. If the non-profit or ministry falls under areas within my personal mission, then the decision is much harder. My next step is to prioritize and only choose one or two at a time. When a board term is over or the volunteer activity is done, then I choose another one.

I also struggle when I have family or friends over at our house. I want to keep up with the cleaning and picking up dishes and putting away food. Then I realize I’m not spending precious time with my family or friends that are at my home visiting. I have decided to set my urge to clean aside and leave it all behind to spend that time with my loved ones. The satisfaction I have experienced by doing this the last few gatherings far exceeds the satisfaction of seeing the house clean and picked up while our guests are still in the house.

I encourage you today to look for opportunities to stop some things you’re doing to regain time and spend it with your loved ones—doing the things that really matter. Make sure you include God in “the people you love and want to spend time with.” He is waiting and longing to spend that time with you too!