Three years into my sixth decade—I’ve logged some miles in my time—I have tell-tale signs on my body to prove it: childhood scars on my chin from multiple bike accidents, hips that widened with the birth of two babies, a knob on my index finger where the weed whacker cord briskly snapped it, a mark on my hand from an incident involving an anniversary cake and a hot oven, three surgical scars, and a growing collection of lines on a face that loves being drenched in the light of the sun. Yes, some physical badges of honor are in residency now.
And, although I generally don’t feel old, I am realizing that the number of years in my rear-view mirror are greater than those still waiting to be traveled. While that’s not a bad thing in and of itself, it definitely makes time a more valuable commodity to me and how I spend it of great importance.
According to Benjamin Franklin, “Lost time is never found again,” and of course we all know this to be true. Time isn’t something we can save up for a rainy day. We’re given 24 hours from sunrise to sunrise and those minutes are never again repeated.
So here I am, a mother-of-two, a grandmother-of-four, an aging artist, with a husband who’s about to retire and a huge desire in my heart to use what God has given me to leave a lasting impact on this world. All the while, I am aware of the weight and value of the season I am now in.
How do I balance my desires to spend time with my husband, to nurture family and friends, to managing the day-to-day requirements of running a house, and to fully engage in the creativity that flows through my veins? I find myself pulled in so many directions while not wanting to compromise a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.
If this sounds familiar to you, you are likely a human being living in the twenty-first century where expectations are high, the pace is swift and demands are relentless. And, regardless of your age, you have likely struggled with balancing your time at some point in your life, if you aren’t wrestling with it at this very moment.
If you’re a younger person reading this, you may be thinking that as you age and your responsibilities lessen, balancing your time should certainly get easier. My experience is that it becomes different, not easier. Because while you may not be raising children or having the same time constraints with your job, as you grow older time itself changes!
Remember how when you are a kid, waiting in line with your mom at the grocery store took f-o-r-e-v-e-r? And Christmas was always an eternity away? Well, as you age, time passes faster and faster. Nowadays for me when December rolls around, I literally feel like I just finished packing all my Christmas decorations away! The reality is that if time in your 30’s is like standing on a moving sidewalk, then when you’re in your 60’s it’s like running full-force on a treadmill! Time slips through your fingers like water. And, the sobering news is that it continues to pick up speed with each passing year.
So how in the world do we wrestle successfully with time, regardless of our age or the season of life we’re in? The organizational part of me would love to be able to suggest a fool-proof formula that, if followed carefully, would give us a perfectly-planned, fully-functioning time management system where all of our tasks could be completed with time to spare for the dreams we yet want to pursue. Or perhaps a well-coordinated, color-coded spreadsheet with just the right number of columns to accommodate the appropriate minutes for every requirement our days hold. Ah, the bliss that would be!
The reality is that life never fits neatly into a spreadsheet, nor is there a one-size-fits-all formula for how to organize our schedules. Life is messy. And complex. And just when we think we have found a balance—the unexpected happens and we’re thrown off kilter for awhile.
I think we have to look at time for what it is—something that God created to give us order, rhythm and cadence in our lives. It’s something that helps us mark our history and reminds us of God’s faithfulness to us. Time also gives us opportunities for new beginnings.
The truth is that it’s not so much about managing our time or getting time wrangled under control as it is about aligning ourselves with God’s purposes and plans.
“it’s not so much about managing our time or getting time wrangled under control as it is about aligning ourselves with God’s purposes and plans.”
The key, I believe, is to be cultivating our relationship with God and becoming familiar with what He wants us to be doing. Are there things we’ve taken on that aren’t really what He’s asking us to do? Are there other things He wants us to spend our time doing that we’re neglecting? We can only know this by spending time in His Word and time with Him in prayer. Our priorities need to come from Him and our time allotments for each as well. If God is asking us to do something, He’ll provide the time to do it. And, by the way, it’s not our job to do every last good thing on the planet there is! If we’re feeling overwhelmed by what we’re doing, perhaps we’ve added things to our list that don’t belong on it. (Ouch!).
God’s plans aren’t for us to be rundown, stressed-out and sleep-deprived. He wants us to be walking so closely with Him that we feel His nudge to do this or that…to take on this task or let that one go. He wants us to partner with Him in what we do and thrive as we spend our time.
I don’t know about you, but after sixty-three years I’m still trying to perfect this in my life! Teach me to number my days, Lord, that I may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12) and help me to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16). I know that as I lean on Him, look to Him, and trust in Him, He will direct my path and give me wisdom to balance my time and use it well. I know he’ll do the same for you.
”Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” - Proverbs 3:5-6