Taking the time, time after time

This summer has been a bit of a whirlwind for me and my family. As soon as school let out in June I took my son to soccer camp for a week. When we returned, I had two days to prepare to preach my last sermons at the church I was serving before we packed up all of our belongings and moved to Wilmington, NC. Almost immediately we had family in town all the while trying to adjust to a new environment. From there it was youth camps, another soccer camp, registering our children for their new schools, enrolling our youngest in a new gymnastics program, celebrating a sweet sixteen birthday and then going to get her license, and then serving as the speaker at a week-long high school camp. Somewhere in the midst of all of that my wife and I carved out regular time for each other so that we wouldn't be tempted to wake up one day and ask each other, "Who are you?"

Time itself is such a funny thing - we can't actually create any more than we are given in a 24-hour day but we do have the opportunity to manage the time that we do have. If we don't manage our time, then it will be more than willing to manage us! As busy as our schedules can tend to be, there will always be those quiet(er) moments in the midst of our chaos where God seeks to grab our attention in an effort to refocus us and refresh our souls.

These are moments we cannot afford to miss.

As we watch our children grow up way too fast and struggle to believe that what seemed like yesterday was actually a few years ago, my wife and I often ask ourselves, "Where did all the time go?" If our lives were wrapped up in events and achievements then I am sure that a deep-seeded depression would have set in by now. But life is more that what we can personally accomplish or what kind of a name we can make for ourselves. Life is a beautiful journey filled with people and places that impact our every step.

That being the case, what are you doing with the time that you have? Allow me to suggest a few ideas that I believe will help you manage your time in such a way as to be fulfilling and fruitful:

• Spend time with God everyday. Read the Bible. Sit in the stillness of the sunrise or sunset and contemplate His majesty. Use the time that you are driving in your car to lift up prayers and praises to Him. Don't neglect attending a church on Sunday to connect with God and His people.
• Find a special place and go there often. Each morning I strive to enjoy my coffee and time with God or a good book on my screened porch. It's quiet, peaceful, and it also allows me to spend quality time with my wife and to gather my thoughts for the day.
• Don't neglect spending time with people. Chat with your neighbors, go to dinner with friends, visit your grandparents and ask them about their childhood, or enjoy game night with your family. Avoid the temptation to let people pass by because that is when opportunities to grow and invest in others will pass you by as well.
• Find something that you love and do it often. Since I moved to the coast and discovered stand up paddle boarding, I want to be on the water as much as I can. Even though this is not a daily thing, the times that I do go out fill my cup to the brim. We all have things that we are most passionate about. Those areas certainly deserve our time.
• Enjoy a good book. Books open up a whole new world to the imagination, that is if you are willing to invest in the time to read them. Put down your phone, turn off the TV, and get lost in a good book.
• Invite others to join you on errands or small tasks. Whenever I need to run to the store I usually take one of my kids along with me. Sure, I may bribe them with the promise of gum, but I have never regretted those extra moments away with them.

That's a pretty simple list, isn't it? And for the most part, engaging in those things shouldn't cause you to have to radically rearrange your schedule. In fact, once you organize your time for those activities and people that make you most come alive, you will find that including them more and more in your daily life becomes not only natural but essential. So stop making excuses and take the time because it's right there in front of you. 

It's good to take a deep breath every once in a while

If you ask me where the greatest place on earth is, I won't hesitate to tell you that it's found on the beach with the surf dancing around my chair as my kids play in the water and sand nearby. Nothing calms my soul or brings clarity out of confusion for me like a day at the beach.

Many people have told me how lucky I am for living on the coast, and I don't disagree. But when they say things like, "You get to go to the beach whenever you want!" I have to chime in with a little perspective. True, if I was a character in a Nicholas Sparks book then the beach would be my backyard and work would be optional. Yet life isn't like that for me or many people that I know.

If you were to tell me that you are immune to stress, that the craziness of life never really gets to you, then the first thing I would do is check your pulse! Regardless of whether you are a student, parent, professional, or seasoned citizen, life is often crazy and unpredictable.

Recently, my wife and I have started watching old episodes of The Waltons on TV and have found ourselves daydreaming about living in simpler times. Now I know that the show is fictional, filmed in California and not a rural Virginia setting, and I'm sure that farm life in the 1930's was no walk in the park. But shows like this express what so many of us long for: peace, relief from daily stress, and the satisfaction of relationships. This "safe zone" that we seek - that we all need - is called margin.

Margin occurs when we recognize that we can't do it all and thus we don't even pretend that we can. It involves controlling your schedule before it controls you. Family dinners, intentional play time with the kids, quiet solitude on the porch watching the sun rise or set, or even a mid-afternoon workout are all ways to get away and regain a foothold in the busy schedule of life.

Jesus understood margin and sought it out in His own life. Mark 1:35, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there." Imagine having a schedule like Jesus - sermons to preach, people to heal, a kingdom to build. And you think your life is hectic! Yet in spite of all that was on His plate, Jesus took time to retreat from the chaos to be alone and to enjoy the fellowship if good friends.

Somewhere in the pages of the book of our lives entitled Insanity, we must learn where to insert the margins before the words run off the page and effectively run us dry. Don't apologize for pulling back and making time for family, friends, and yourself. Learn to say "No!" and be okay with it. Remember, if you don't learn how to manage your schedule, your schedule will be more than happy to manage you.