It's About Time

by Linda Moore

One of my favorite shows growing up was I Love Lucy. Lucy was always concocting some hair-brained scheme, and her side-kick, Ethel, was always willing to join in on the antics. During one episode, we find this great comic team working in a chocolate candy factory. Outfitted with bakery aprons and hats (not to mention their pearl necklaces and earrings!), their job was simple. They were to wrap the chocolate candies in tissue as they came down the conveyor belt. Those of you who have seen this episode will remember what follows. As the speed of the conveyor belt increases, Lucy and Ethel become visibly stressed trying to keep pace with the flood of chocolate candies rushing at them. When the conveyor belt slips into overdrive, no human effort can avail them — they are doomed to fail. Frantically they begin stuffing the candy into their pockets, under their hats and into their mouths until there is no place left to stash them. We laugh at their valiant, though futile, attempts to succeed in an impossible situation.

Sometimes our lives resemble this hilarious episode but it’s not nearly so funny when it’s told from our perspective! “Life” comes at us as from all directions as quickly as those chocolates do for Lucy and Ethel. The endless demands upon women frequently stretch us beyond all that seems reasonable. I still can see Lucy’s wide-eyed, shell-shocked look of desperation as she realizes her impossible plight. I’ve seen that look before; on the faces of exhausted young moms, frazzled marketplace women, over-stretched women in ministry...The list could go on and on.

Time seems to be a demanding task-master, each morning enticing us with a myriad of possibilities and then every evening chiding us for not achieving our goals. Yet despite these frustrations, time is a gift and we need to use it wisely. As the saying goes, “Yesterday is history...Tomorrow is mystery...Today is a gift...That’s why it’s called...The Present.” Among other things, time provides us with opportunities to rest, to eat and sleep, to work, to exercise, and to invest in relationships with our loved ones, friends and neighbors.

How are we to employ this valuable resource? Why not find a kindred spirit and grapple with these issues together? You can discuss the challenges you face, pray together and come up with some reasonable goals. I would also encourage you to consider joining one of our Together groups.  Having the encouraging, prayerful support and insights of your sisters in Christ can make a significant difference!

I am encouraged when I remember that Jesus was born in the fullness of time to redeem us. (Galatians 4:4-5). He who lived a perfectly balanced and controlled life, amidst the demands of thousands of people, knows every temptation and pressure in our lives. He is the one who prays for us before the throne of grace. (Romans 8:34) He has much to teach us about how to order our lives and how to deal with the challenges that face us. Consequently, it is imperative as Christian women to cultivate our relationship with God: to study His Word, to pray, to fellowship with other believers, to worship. Of course, all this takes time but God is able to work in us to help us sort through our priorities, to choose the “best” over the “good.” Now, having said all that, I know there are seasons in life and not everyone can devote the same amount of time to all these things. Yet, when the heart is encouraged and guided by the Spirit of God, what time He gives you to cultivate your heart will be sufficient, even though those precious moments seem hardly enough.

Have we “arrived” once we prayerfully determine our priorities and then live accordingly? No, as God doesn’t just work in our lives to help us get our lives in order. He also wants to work through us to touch other lives as well. Paul commends Timothy for this in Philippians 2: 20-21, “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” As we embark on this new year, and view the world through His eyes, we too will be more sensitive and available to serve others in His Name, to be salt and light in our world, to do the “good works He has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

"There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity that is the work of a moment."
Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways, pg.146

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."
Michael Althsuler Time-Management-Guide.com

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Ps. 90:12

"Many people seem to think that success in one area can compensate for failure in other areas. But can it really?...True effectiveness requires balance."
Stephen Covey Time-Management-Guide.com

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf to Frodo in Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Time-Management-Guide.com

"Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. "
Will Rogers, New York Times, Apr. 29, 1930 QuotationsPage.com

"Overdoing is the ordinary way of undoing."
Richard Baxter, A Puritan Golden Treasury, pg. 97

"Always remember that the future comes one day at a time."
Dean Acheson Angelfire.com