Redeeming the Time

Over the weekend, most of us living in the United States gained an extra hour to use as we like.  Some remembered and chose how to use the extra time on Saturday night; others forgot and got their extra hour on Sunday morning instead.  But everyone had the opportunity to choose what to do with the additional time on their hands.  One of my friends suggested on social media that this was a good opportunity to spend more time thanking God for all of the blessings we have.

As I’ve said before, I am hopelessly purpose-driven and also a night owl.  So this day of turning back my clocks is a favorite of mine – because I get an extra hour to get something else done before going to bed on my usually earliest night of the week.  But I have to admit that one of my least favorite days of the year is the opposite day in the spring when clocks are set ahead – because I have one less hour to accomplish what I need to and have to try to go to bed earlier than usual!

I bought a new alarm clock a few years ago that made this dreaded spring day even worse.  Not realizing that it had an automatic Daylight Savings Time setting, I moved my clock ahead before going to bed – only to discover when I got up the next morning that the clock had moved itself ahead as well in the middle of the night, and I was now running an hour behind in my attempt to get to church on time!

I’m currently in the middle of three different “waiting-room” experiences that God is walking me through, and I have to admit that I get impatient when other people control the timeframe of my life.  All of these thoughts have me thinking today about my relationship with time and how I choose to spend my time every day.  How much time do I actually waste?  I’m not talking about success at finishing a project I’m working on or accomplishing a list I’ve made.  I’m pretty good at those things.  But no human has ever been as purpose-driven as Jesus was (he only had 3 years to fulfill God’s purpose for him on earth and had to wait 30 years before starting that purpose); yet he took the time to be distracted by people who followed him and stopped along the way to smell the roses. 

What about me?  Does my time allocation reflect my love for God and include regular activities that build his Kingdom instead of just accomplishing my own purposes?  When I have extra time on my hands (and we all do), how am I choosing to spend it?  When I think about Jesus’ example, I know that he never sinned – so he spent every minute of every day of his life perfectly attending to his Father’s will.  We all have a long way to go, but this is a good time of year to start thinking about how to improve our use of time in the future.  Holidays often bring out the best in us; but God wants us to redeem the time he’s given us every single day (Ephesians 5:16).

Responding to Change

Some people thrive on change – at least change that they can control.  The owner of the beauty salon I go to is constantly rearranging the furniture and décor of the salon, and I know other people who often change things around in their homes.  However, I am not those people!  Change has always been something I would rather avoid, and in many ways I live by the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

But change is inevitable in this world – especially in the technology-driven 21^st century.  People change their houses, cars, wardrobes, spouses, and many other aspects of their lives with lightning regularity.  These are changes that are brought about by choice.  But there are other changes that happen to us that are not our choice or not solely our choice – things like job changes and the death of a loved one, among other things.

Currently, a friend from church is walking through the unknown changes brought about by her husband’s sudden and untimely passing.  In an instant, nearly everything that she considered “normal” changed.  Two other friends have recently moved long distances and are learning to adjust to new surroundings.  And I am facing the changes to my routine resulting from a temporary change in my husband’s job description and his working hours. 

It’s usually the changes that we can’t control that challenge us the most.  We have to try to maintain proper attitudes and not allow the changes to unnerve us.  I don’t always succeed at this.  But I am more likely to respond the way I should when I focus my mind and attention on what hasn’t changed – and this always causes me to look toward God.

Regardless of anything else, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  God is always sovereign, loving, merciful, forgiving, all-powerful, all-knowing, just, gracious, trustworthy, and many other things.  His character is unchanging and can be counted on regardless of any changes I am experiencing.  He is also always with us – Immanuel – walking beside us through every change.  What else could we ever need?

Sometimes I need to be reminded of this truth and choose to focus on God instead of whatever changes I am going through.  I suspect my friends mentioned above know what I’m talking about.  Thankfully, every new day is a new opportunity to choose the right focus and right attitude – and to rely on God’s strength to help me make the right choices.  We are never alone, and that is the greatest news we could ever receive.  Thanking God today for his presence in my life and his strength for each day . . .    

Adopted!

I was raised in a close-knit family.  There weren’t very many of us; but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in fervor.  We loved each other well in both word and deed.  My childhood was safe and carefree, and I was blessed to know God from an early age.

But I didn’t know much about the real world.  Probably due to my parents’ personalities, there wasn’t a lot of interaction with others outside of our family.  We literally did everything together, and our love was largely reserved for those within our own family.  I thought everyone else was just like me and my family.

When I used to read about how God has adopted us into his family (Ephesians 1:4-6), I only vaguely understood the concept.  As far as I know, I only knew two adopted people when I was growing up – a 4^th grade classmate and her brother who had been Korean orphans adopted together by the same family long before I knew them.  I remember walking to the courthouse for a field trip on the day they became citizens of our country.  But since their adoptive parents loved and cared for them well, I never thought much about their adoption.

Fast-forward fifty years: I’m beginning to get a better picture of God’s love and generosity in choosing to adopt us into his family – as I have watched my son and daughter-in-law journey through the process of adopting my new grandson from the foster parenting system.  The truth that love is a choice has never been as personal as it is to me right now.  To be chosen and adopted by God is not something any of us should take for granted!

Here’s something else I’ve learned along the way.  Because my upbringing conditioned me to love family more than others, I never thought loving an adopted child would be easy for me.  But I have learned that a child is a child – and that God has given all of us the capacity to love others deeply if we are willing to make that choice.  I can’t imagine that Jacob could be more loved – even if he was our biological grandchild!

When I think about God choosing to love and adopt us, I am reminded of one other thing.  Jacob is an innocent child who didn’t ask for or cause any of what happened to him in his biological family.  But we are all sinners who have rebelled against God (Romans 3:23) – and yet he still chooses to love and adopt us.  Although not perfect, Jacob is so much easier to love than I must be to God.  That Almighty God wants to be in relationship with me despite my selfishness and sinfulness is both a miracle and a mystery.  May I never lose sight of this, and may I continue to grow in my ability to love others as God loves me.