What category of wealth do many say they don’t have enough of, others say they have too much, and yet everyone has the same amount? The answer is time. We all have 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. This is God’s equity in the grace of time. This, too, is a gift.
How do we spend our time? How do we invest ourselves? These are the questions about managing our wealth of time. These questions have different answers depending upon the season of our life. Yet, we can all be guided by the liturgical sending: “Go in peace, Serve the Lord.” We are sent into the world (Go) with the fulness of God’s love (peace) to work toward God’s desires for the whole creation.
Work and play, rest and exercise, solitude and community are all uses of time that we need in healthy balance. That balance is different for varieties of people. My friend needs five to six hours of sleep. I need close to eight. There are seasons of intensity. Caring for a newborn is more all-consuming than parenting a twelve-year-old. Farmers know seasons of planting and harvesting. College students know the last four weeks of the semester have a greater workload. We need to anchor the rhythm of our lives in God’s goodness and grace. The gift of time is ours for blessing and not cursing, for loving and not hating, for forgiving and not resenting.
Pay attention to what energizes you and what drains you. Introverts and extroverts are energized in somewhat opposite ways. Introverts are energized by solitude and one on one relationships. Extroverts are energized by engaging in the outward environment and communal relationships. As an extrovert I learned to do more introverted activities when I had the most energy. Then, when I had less energy, I would do the activities that energized me. Likewise, I learned to do the hardest things on my to do list first.
God has given us twenty-four hours and seven days a week. How will you use this gift? I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you into fruitful ways of serving the Lord.- Pastor Peugeot