Jen’s Gem: God will restore your lost time.

As I shut off my alarm this morning and said, “not yet,” I closed my eyes for what seemed like five minutes. When I opened them again, it was an hour later. What? I bolted out of bed, turned on the coffee pot, and here I am.  At this time, I’m usually putting finishing touches on my post, but today I’m starting from scratch.

Time. Where is it going? My mother told me that time goes faster when you get older but it seems to be going at warp speed. Did we not just celebrate the New Year and here we are about to welcome spring. Of course, we are encased in ice here in Connecticut making it difficult to imagine warmer days, but they are coming.

A good friend of mine recently did an analysis of how she spends her time and the results were shocking. So much so that she re-arranged her schedule and stepped away from a few commitments. Turns out saying “no” really is a good thing. Our time is our life and we want to ensure we are spending it wisely.

I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts lately about how we are spending our time, explaining why busyness is not the same as productivity, and a full calendar is not or should not be the end game. There is value in doing nothing, giving ourselves permission for rest. Our “FOMO” culture prevents this from happening as often as it should.

Several months ago, I took a trip to Newport to refresh, recharge, and reignite my mind, body, and spirit. It was the best 48 hours I’ve spent in years and I am looking forward to returning again or better yet, heading to the Caribbean where tropical breezes can melt the cares of the world away.

The Bible is full of stories of people who went off on their own to disconnect from their past, get clarity on their next season, and of course, reconnect with God. Abraham left his family and went to a land that God revealed to him. His entire life changed after that, including his name! (Abram to Abraham.) Moses spent forty years in a wilderness having been cast out of Egypt and went on to be the deliverer of millions from slavery.

I’m reading the book of Acts and the time references are compelling. For example, the words “suddenly” or “immediately” are used to describe the people’s actions, implying a sense of urgency and/or obedience to a command or direction. On the contrary, there are also stories of how procrastination or disobedience wreaked havoc in people’s lives.

We all remember Jonah, yes? He was told by God to go to a place called Nineveh, and instead, he did a 180 and went in the complete opposite direction, ending up in the belly of a fish for three days. Of course, when he realized the folly of this poor decision, God transformed his life and the lives of many others in that city.

In our busy, ‘never have a minute for ourselves’ world, we too can do our own 180’s and miss God’s purpose for our lives and His blessings. Placing other things first, can cause us to head in the wrong direction and while we won’t end up in the belly of a fish, we may end up in a place we never intended, wasting precious time.

This morning, I lost an hour due to oversleeping. Add that to the hour we all lost with Daylight Savings Time ending and that’s two hours I won’t get back. But here’s the good news, God will restore this lost time. I don’t know how, but I know He will because He is a God of restoration.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10 NKJV)

What’s the key to making the most of our time? It starts with the same task that my friend did. Analyze where your time is being spent now. Keep a time journal. We can’t change what we can’t name, right? Do this for a week perhaps and then review the tasks or commitments. Assign them a priority and identify the value they are bringing to others or yourself.

If they are not fruitful, eliminate them. You don’t have to go cold turkey, but perhaps shave one or two off of your list. You may be tempted to immediately fill these empty spaces with something else to avoid the vacuum. But instead, use this time for reflection or rest. And of course, I want to encourage you to read God’s Word because that’s always time well spent.

Our time is our life. How we spend it determines the quality of our lives and the difference we can make. God did not create us to be “busy bodies,” but rather purpose-driven, intentional bodies. He did not create us to say “yes” to everything, but to use wisdom in choosing our commitments. It’s ok to say “no” to something that is good, so that we can say  “yes” to something that is great.

Remember, not everything that’s good is good for us. Choose wisely.