No matter our age, at some point we all look around and wonder,
“Where did time go?”
The young person who was sure they had plenty of time to get the school project done, now sits in the twilight of the day staring at a blank page with a looming deadline coming up with the sun.
A mom enters the end of the day with dishes in the sink, the bedtime story not read, and lays out her work clothes for tomorrow ... barely able to keep her eyes open.
The dad who works so hard for his family that he never sees them and though he laments the situation, it seems there is no other way.
A silver haired couple gazes lovingly at their toddler’s picture and realizes he now has gray hair. Does he know they love him more now than ever?
We are portioned our days from the Lord and we have enough for what we are to do. Oh I’m sorry … did that sound too simplistic? Yes … well the other theory is that the Lord purposely gave us insufficient time for what He designed us to do. You pick.
Lately I have been thinking about this problem because even though I am in an ideal situation to complete my goals … I’m not. So I reviewed who God is and who I am; then decided the problem must lie with me. Now everyone else can go with your own conclusions, I’m just sharing mine.
Logically then if I have sufficient time from the Lord to complete the life He intends, with the work He created beforehand for me to do, me running out of time must mean? Yeah that’s what I came up with too. I’m putting pieces in my life that aren’t really part of the plan and taking too much time for lesser activities.
So I headed back to the Bible and checked things out. What did God say was His work and what does He see as most important?
John 6:28 & 29
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent”
Matthew 22: 36 – 40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So now that I am back on track with what’s important to God, I looked at my life again and was reminded of the analogy of the jar that was filled with rocks, pebbles, sand and coffee. I don’t know who to credit but it isn’t me.
The jar is life and the first things to fit in are the large rocks, which are the most important parts of our life. The pebbles, some pretty important things to do but secondary. The sand – everything else – I’m thinking my solitaire games may qualify. Last but not least, the coffee is poured around everything else, showing there is always time for coffee with a friend.
So just some examples … because if you decide to go with this – you and God will work this out together:
ROCKS: These get priority time every day
God – love Him first.
Relationships (love my neighbor)
PEBBLES
Work **don’t worry God knows we have to work – put Him first and He will clear a path. Put Him second and we will struggle**
Church ** Yep don’t scream – important BUT God comes before church and if done in that order – He will give us something to contribute to church other than a warm bottom on a chair.
**anything that is important but not God or people
SAND
And here my friends seemed to be where I was spending the majority of my day. Playing in the sand … the things in life that distract us from rocks and pebbles.
COFFEE
Yep – there is always room for coffee with a friend!
Love,
Bev