Time Management Matters.

It’s something we always claim to need more of and never have enough of. Time. The very thing we rave about not allowing others to waste, yet we often waste for ourselves.

So, I’ve been super busy and on the go lately and haven’t felt that I have had enough time to tend to things that I routinely keep up for myself. For example, cleaning my apartment.

Now, don’t go off the deep end, I clean up, but I hadn’t been able to do that good old “blast your

music, Saturday morning” deep clean. I also wanted to sit quietly and get some reading done and a few other normal, home things. Things that I typically get done when I have no distractions.

I distinctly remember saying, “Lord, I just need a day that I don’t have to leave my house so I can get my own work done.” Fast forward to this bitter cold, frozen tundra that smacked the Midwest. I’d gone to work on a Tuesday and upon hearing what the temperature would be (or not be) the next day, I decided to stay in and work from home (I can do that from time to time). Schools were already announcing they’d be closed, mail service was to be canceled, and a number of businesses opted to close as well – so, I joined the ranks.

I woke up that next morning and thought to just turn over and sleep in. As soon as I reclosed my eyes at 8:00 am, God reminded me of my request – to have a day where I didn’t have to leave home so that I could take care of home.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to check off my list of to-dos.

Redeem the Time

Did I go back to sleep? Of course, I did! It was a work from home day, but I did get up an hour later. By the end of the day, I’d cleaned my house from top to bottom and completed all the tasks on my list.

I learned a lesson that I’m sure I’d already known. It’s not always about the amount of time you have, sometimes it’s simply what you do with it.

See, I could have wasted the day away with the excuse that it was too dangerously cold to go outside. But instead, I did what I previously hadn’t had the time to do. How many times has God granted us the grace and time to complete a thing, but because it didn’t necessarily look the way we expected, we totally missed that window?

My stay at home day didn’t look like how I expected my “catch up” day to look. I actually expected to have a Saturday free where I could get up early, blast my music, and drink coffee while I cleaned, then fall out on my couch and read all afternoon. But, instead, I got a “feels like” -37-degree Wednesday to keep myself inside and get it done.

So, What’s the Play Call?

So often, we mismanage our time because it doesn’t “look like” the hour we expected. Here are a few things to help you recognize when the clock strikes “Get it done!”:

1. Always be ready. Just as our Playbook tells us to always be prepared for the return of Christ, we must be ready to move when He gives us space and opportunity to do so. “Be ye, therefore, ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke 12:40
2. Pay attention. Had I not been listening to the voice of the Lord, I would have still been praying for a free Saturday to clean and get my quiet reading time in. We’ve got to be alert, sober, and vigilant so that we don’t miss our time. “And, since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!” Mark 13:33, NLT
3. Use your time wisely. Sure, you hear this all the time, but I cannot stress to you enough the importance of time. Do you recall the 10 virgins in Matthew 25? Well, let me help you, five of them stayed ready at all times and the other 5 were “foolish” and waited until the last minute to get prepared. Each of the ten was given the same amount of time to spend. “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” Matthew 25:3-4

We are all asking God for that extra few minutes in our day to complete something. Be sure you don’t miss your moment because it didn’t come at the exact hour you expected and prepared for it.