For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
Psalm 90:4
Last night we turned our clocks back an hour and "gained" an hour of sleep. I knew exactly what would happen--I'd go to bed as usual and wake up an hour earlier, at 7:00 instead of 8:00. And, that's exactly what happened.
Today, I definitely need that extra hour. I've got projects for classes that are due and a heavy feeling of not having enough time to complete them. I'm taking some vacation days at the end of this week and the beginning of the next, so at work I'll feel pushed to get bulletins printed and emails sent and any one of another million things done in those short work weeks. Pile on top of that this overwhelming feeling at 38 years old that time is speeding past me. Inside, I don't feel older. Outside, I've aged a bit. Somehow a couple of decades has past, and I still feel like I am standing still.
All of it makes me think about this precious gift of time. It is an extravagant thing that we often "kill" or "waste." In many cases, people are driven to work through their days, never stopping to rest. Others never seem to accomplish anything. Somewhere there is a balance between living a life of purpose and taking time to stop and smell the roses.
In a couple of weeks, I begin a new schedule at my office. I'll work Sunday through Thursday and be off on Fridays and Saturdays. Currently, I work part of the day on Sundays and Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. This shift gives me two full days out of the building with little change to the number of hours I actually work. It is a gracious gift of time that I can spend with my husband. It will allow us a sabbath day, where we can literally do nothing together. It will allow our minds to take a break, so that when we go back to the day-to-day, we can do our work better. Most importantly, I am hoping that it will help us find the balance of time....the delicate balance between work and play.
None of us knows how much time we are allowed. That's what makes it such a priceless commodity. It's the one resource I truly hope to "spend" wisely, even when I "gain" an hour.
Psalm 90:4
Last night we turned our clocks back an hour and "gained" an hour of sleep. I knew exactly what would happen--I'd go to bed as usual and wake up an hour earlier, at 7:00 instead of 8:00. And, that's exactly what happened.
Today, I definitely need that extra hour. I've got projects for classes that are due and a heavy feeling of not having enough time to complete them. I'm taking some vacation days at the end of this week and the beginning of the next, so at work I'll feel pushed to get bulletins printed and emails sent and any one of another million things done in those short work weeks. Pile on top of that this overwhelming feeling at 38 years old that time is speeding past me. Inside, I don't feel older. Outside, I've aged a bit. Somehow a couple of decades has past, and I still feel like I am standing still.
All of it makes me think about this precious gift of time. It is an extravagant thing that we often "kill" or "waste." In many cases, people are driven to work through their days, never stopping to rest. Others never seem to accomplish anything. Somewhere there is a balance between living a life of purpose and taking time to stop and smell the roses.
In a couple of weeks, I begin a new schedule at my office. I'll work Sunday through Thursday and be off on Fridays and Saturdays. Currently, I work part of the day on Sundays and Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. This shift gives me two full days out of the building with little change to the number of hours I actually work. It is a gracious gift of time that I can spend with my husband. It will allow us a sabbath day, where we can literally do nothing together. It will allow our minds to take a break, so that when we go back to the day-to-day, we can do our work better. Most importantly, I am hoping that it will help us find the balance of time....the delicate balance between work and play.
None of us knows how much time we are allowed. That's what makes it such a priceless commodity. It's the one resource I truly hope to "spend" wisely, even when I "gain" an hour.