Reframing Time
Time is on my mind. I rarely feel like I have enough time, and I certainly don’t ever think I’m maximizing the time I do have. It’s so easy to become a slave to productivity and constantly stew about how much we accomplished – or rather didn’t accomplish – in any given span of time. Too often life is lived in a robotic fashion. As we grow up, the world around us teaches us that if we do A, B, and C in that order, then we will be happy. So rather than embracing our individuality and following our own unique path that God has designed for us, we succumb to the pressures of the world and attempt to follow the “logical progression” of life. Rather than this method providing us with what it is we wish for, it often breeds discontentment. We compare our current station in life with our peers as if it’s our job. “That guy I graduated with has a better job than me.” “I can’t believe she’s making more money than me.” “Everyone my age is getting married, but I’m still single. What’s wrong with me?” All of those thoughts are harmful ones that stem from trying to fit our own life into a one size fits all hat. Comparing my life to that of another twenty-five-year-old can only possibly yield two results, both of which are equally wrong-headed. Either the comparison will inflate my sense of self and make me feel “better” than someone, or the comparison will make me feel like I’m falling behind causing me to resent the passing of time. I think we should reframe the way we look at time. Countless hours are wasted worrying about how we can master tasks and maximize our time to enable us to accomplish things that ultimately don’t matter. But all it takes is one second, one minute to make a positive impact in someone else’s life, and that’s what ultimately matters. A quote that resonates with me is one from Jen Hatmaker. She said that “in all our efforts, if we are not about people, our labors aren’t really about Jesus but about us.” Our efforts should unite us with those around us, not serve to tear someone down based on who is doing more or less at work, home, church, etc. We all have an individual journey to walk. Walk it on God's time, not the world's.