Time

I was thinking today as I alternated between tending my child, getting myself ready for the day, catching the latest news and weather, and heading out to my inlaws for the afternoon. My daughter doesn't understand what time is, yet. She thinks it is a word that describes clocks, watches, naps, eating, going somewhere, and Bible class collectively. Even once she is old enough to understand the concept, it will mean little to her life as an innocent and happy child for quite some time. By the time she is a teenager, time will rule her life; time to get up, time for school, time to go to work, time for whatever extracurricular activity she enjoys, time to go, time to come home, time for bed. Only as she becomes an adult, with a family and responsibilities of her own, will she understand that time is not infinite and must be at times carefully managed, and at times studiously ignored. I have many interests and many responsibilities, and often feel that meeting all of them is impossible. And if by that I mean meeting them all at once, it would be impossible. I have to do one thing at a time, realizing that time is only a tool given to me to use. If I crowd my life with tasks and goals, I have abused, not used, the time I have been given. Sometimes, my house will be spotless, my laundry will all be done, and my supper will be cooked perfectly and on time. Sometimes, I will be able to write several pages on my latest work. Sometimes, none of that happens. Sometimes, I stop looking at the clock and just enjoy watching my daughter grow without thinking about how much older she will be tomorrow. Sometimes, I stop looking at the clock and talk to my husband until we have no more words to say. Maybe I will never have the time to write the great American novel. Assuredly I will never have the time to make an appearance in Good Housekeeping. I will never have time to achieve success as the world sees it. But when I look back on my time, I will have timeless memories of life and love, and I will know that I spent my time in the way God gave it to me to be spent.