Jen’s Gem: Your time is your life.

Recently I made the decision to take Fridays off. I did this so that I could use the time to focus on personal projects including my podcast, speaking engagements, and other dreams I felt that God was placing on my heart.

I’m embarrassed to admit that most of the “free Fridays” have been spent taking care of life’s many chores and very little time has been spent on formulating any plans or cultivating new ideas. Add to that my hand surgery and  a couple of illnesses that knocked me off my feet and here I am facing mid-April with little to show for my time. 

It occurred to me after meditating on the events of the past few months, that God must have something really big in store for me because the devil is doing his best to keep me so busy, sick, and tired that I have no time to follow God’s plan. I have no time to ‘daydream’ about what this or that could look like.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV)

Whatever the devil can do to steal your joy, he’s going to do. Why? Because the last thing he wants is for you to be happy. When you’re happy, you’re likely being grateful, you’re likely being unselfish, you’re likely being loving. When you’re sad or depressed, the opposite is true. You’re in the rabbit hole and you can’t see your way out.

When we are overly occupied with the things of this world, we have no time for God. No time to read His Word, no time to go to church, no time to help out someone who is in need. Our focus is on ourselves – the opposite of what God wants and what Jesus taught and lived.

Love your neighbor. When our calendars are jam packed with activity, there’s no time for neighbors. Sometimes there’s no time for our loved ones either! We go from task to task, chore to chore and at the end of the day, fall down in exhaustion or we twirl around in our beds with insomnia until the wee hours trying to figure out how we can complete our never-ending to-do lists.

Being sick for the past week or so forced me to throw away my to-do lists and any other kind of list. I was flat on my back most days, getting up only to take the horse pill antibiotics or grab yet another box of tissues. With my son also being sick, let’s just say we were a sight!

Neither of us felt well enough to do anything. Dishes piled up in the sink and I didn’t care. Garbage cans overflowed with tissues and I didn’t care. The refrigerator was bare and I didn’t…well, yes, I did care about this! As much as I wanted to speed up my recovery, I couldn’t. As much as I wanted to get back to my life of “go go go”, I couldn’t. As my Mom used to say, “My get up and go, got up and went.”

Yesterday I took my final dose of the medicine and for the first time in ten plus days, I feel like myself. I have given myself permission to continue to take it easy this weekend despite a growing to-do list that has been ignored. The quiet space in my mind is now able to contemplate new projects.

We live in a world that rewards busy-ness. We wear our freneticism like a badge of honor. If we are busy, we must matter. If we are going non-stop, our lives must be meaningful and worthwhile.

Yet – is this really true? My days of multi-tasking are long gone. My SuperMom tendencies have faded. I find that when I focus on one thing, quality reigns supreme. Doing too much at once and all I get is stress and substandard results.

Today I am recommitting to my “free Fridays.” Unless there is an emergency that requires

 my attention, I will be focused on projects that align with what I feel God is placing on my heart. I’m looking forward to sharing these with you as they unfold.

It’s Palm Sunday – the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to do one thing – to fulfill His purpose. He was laser focused in these last days to ensure His disciples were prepared for what was to happen. He did several “brain dumps” of teachings so they would be able to handle the upcoming events. In short, He was not too busy to do what was most important.

“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” (John 12:46 NKJV)

This week, I’d like to encourage you to focus only on activities that bring value either to yourself or to others. Examine your chore list and decide what to delegate, dismiss, or do. Be purpose-driven with how you approach each day.

Your time is your life. Spend it wisely.