Devotional: November 2008

Against the Clock

How many times growing up did we hear adults say how time flies by and it goes faster as you get older?  It was so annoying to hear that when I was 10, but how true it is!  I’ve noticed lately more than every how quickly time passes.  Time is one of the most valuable things that we have in life and yet often it is what we squander the most. 

James 4:14b states, “For what is your life?  It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”  We know our short lives are just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity.  It’s what we do with our time that is important. 

Life is busy, but sometimes it is how we prioritize that makes the difference.  After all, no one person is given more time than another.  We’re all granted 24 hours in a day.  Some people check their email 16 times a day and work for hours on their MySpace, but don’t have time for their family.  Some watch their favorite TV programs for a total of 15+ hours a week but their house looks like a cyclone went through it.  We waste time living in the past and thinking about time we’ve wasted.  Then sometimes we are workaholics.  I have a tendency towards that.    

I dug out our wedding pictures last week and picked a few to frame.  When I opened the pictures I had ordered, I realized I was standing in the middle of Wal-Mart with the silliest grin on my face.  Looking at those pictures brought to my mind the joy of that day and what a blessing it was to have my husband.  It occurred to me that I probably don’t rejoice in that enough. 

So I’m determined to make better use of my time.  It goes by too fast to simply let it go by.  For instance, since I started writing this, approximately 90 minutes have past.  Somewhere in the middle of it, my husband wanted to talk to me.  Normally I would have said I couldn’t be interrupted.  Instead, I took a few minutes break, because I’m glad my husband wanted to talk to me.  I don’t want to miss the moments that are our everyday lives.

There is a popular picture right now that you see in many people’s homes and in decorating stores.  The saying is “Live well, laugh often, love much.”  It is a great motto.  It actually sums up some great Biblical principles to enjoying our lives. 

Because of Grace,

Sonya