The Gift of Time

There is not more precious gift for you to give to another than the gift of your time. It is the only gift you can never get back. We live in a world today that is shaped around the idea of saving every moment: time-saving appliances, drive-through everything, online banking/shopping/dating/tax paying, email, microwaves, pay-per-view, ATM's, and so much more. I can only imagine what the speed of life will be when you are my age! But for what purpose exactly are we saving all this time? To work more? To earn another dollar to spend on another time-saving device?

I say time is sacred, and what you spend your time doing reflects on what is sacred to you. Your time with God must be your first priority. It has to be some sort of galactic joke that it is so easy for the human race to reschedule spending time with the God of the universe, but so hard to reschedule a dentist appointment. Everything, and I do mean everything, will try to prevent you from giving your Creator the quality time He deserves. But He gave you life, breath, salvation, and more...time is the least you can give Him.

Don't neglect to spend time with your family either. That may seem self-serving coming from me, but its advice I have to remind myself to take. Friends, careers, hobbies all have their purpose, and they are necessary, but family is a constant you can rely upon when little else is reliable. My mother always told me, "Never forget your family. Your family will be there for you when everyone else leaves you." Though I didn't take those words very seriously at first, I have found this to be increasingly true as I grow older. Mom's tend to become more intelligent in our eyes as we mature. :-)

I've already told you the value of friendship, and for some reason - perhaps it is because we are getting ever closer to the day of HIS return - it has been one of the greatest casualties of our time-saving society. Friendship is really centered around giving the gift of time to another individual without any obligation to do so; you simply want to.

Finally take time for yourself. Do the things you want to do, not just the things you need to do. Find hobbies you enjoy, things that challenge you yet bring you happiness at the same time. You know I love to scrapbook (I'm assuming I'll never give up this hobby of mine...) and I wondered aloud to a friend if I was being obsessive. He replied, "I think it is dedicated, not obsessive!!... ...Obsessive would mean that I continually sacrifice something greatly important for something else important, an addiction of sorts. Being Obsessive means life is not in balance and only self satisfying, only focused on a certain few things swaying decisions in life against better judgment. Dedication on the other hand, is similar, but allows for rational decision making and allows for a balance of time for all things important in the life God's given us." He is very wise.

Keep a balance of time, my beloved child and you will have a bountiful and fruitful life.