Who's In Charge of Your Time?

WHO’S IN CHARGE OF YOUR TIME?

The memorial for my best friend was today. It was out of town and I was unable to go, but she will live on in my heart.

Our long-term friendship lasted over fifty years. Very few of them were lived in the same town. Most of our connections were made over the phone. Like she once said, “We can talk about anything and everything.” We encouraged each other, but were non-judgmental.

Her son commented, “She was just like her mom. She was ready to go and expected on a certain night that she would be gone. She was surprised when she woke up in the morning. She said, “I tried, but I’m still here.” When he said that, I remembered the incident about her mom.

A similar thing happened when my Dad went on hospice care. He was very thin and weak and I called my brothers to let them know his situation. They and their wives came and we said our goodbyes. Dad even called me into his room that night and told me he appreciated my care and that I had been a good daughter.

Just like my friend and her mom, he was surprised to wake up in the morning still with us. When it was his time to die, he had care in a hospice center for three days, unresponsive to any communication.

The Bottom Line

My friend and my father were both prepared for their moment of death. They did not fear it, but neither were they were in charge of it.

Wise King Solomon wrote there is a time to be born and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:2). The beginning and ending of our life is not time under our control. But in between those two events our time, long or short, is under our command.

What do you do with the time that you control? My friend’s obituary reminded me that time choices are made as we play various roles in our lives. Whether with family, on the job, at church or in the community, time flies as we choose how much we will invest or spend on each one.

A Life Well Lived

My friend had a good sense of humor and enjoyed life. She was a woman of faith and lived her life to please God. She cared about people and willingly invested in them the time under her control. She had many long-term and loyal friends besides me.

God is in charge of time at the beginning and ending of our lives, but He’s left us in charge of the time in between. Just remember: It’s not how long you live but for what you live that counts.