A Timely Gift

vintage, valuableWhen my mother passed away, I inherited her anniversary clock. It had been purchased when I was a baby and always sat on the mantle of my childhood home.

The clock sits beneath a glass dome. It has a pendulum with four brass balls which rotate slowly in one direction and then the other. An annual winding is all that’s required.

I was honoured that as mom’s time ran out, the timepiece she loved came to reside with me. My mom’s life exemplified the importance of sharing time with others. She was a lifelong volunteer and even at the age of eighty, frequently drove ‘old people’ to medical appointments or to get groceries.

The clock has been in my possession for over twenty years now and for most, if not all of that time, has been purely ornamental. In our recent move, the delicate clock suffered damage to the pendulum clip. Since it needed repair, I decided this was a good time to have it restored to running order.
Anniversary Clock
The clock was returned to me a few weeks before my birthday. Both of us are old enough to be considered vintage. That means we’re not yet antique, but are becoming more valuable with the passing of time!

The combination of the anniversary clock and anniversary of my birth have me reminiscing. Moments of time replay in my mind. The joys, heartaches and lessons of my past have contributed to who I am today. How I currently spend my time will influence my life tomorrow. My goal is to invest it wisely.

Only I can give the gift of my time. When I share it with you, I am giving you a portion of my life. By taking the time to read this, you have done the same for me. Thank you, my friends, for spending your valuable time with me today. You have given me the best gift possible.

Lessons for an On-Time Girl

#inspiration, #God, guidance, time
image from pixabay

Todays guest post is by Carolyn R. Wilker

Getting up in the morning seemed hard for me during high school years. The days often felt long—an hour bus ride beginning and end of the day, then farm chores or sibling care, and two hours of homework. My energy often flagged by the end of the week, and I could barely get out of bed.

Mom was up each morning to get our breakfast ready. My sisters and I only had to sit down and eat before catching the bus. Mom even set the kitchen clock five minutes fast. Enter a recurrent dream about missing the school bus, always near the end of summer.

In the dream, I’d be part way out our country lane, and the school bus would come. Usually the driver saw us coming, and he’d wait, but in the dream, the driver never saw us, and he’d go right by. I could never run fast enough.

One school morning, I hit the snooze button once too often and really did miss the bus. Dad would take me, but I’d have to wait until he was ready. He got me there in time, enough to grab books from my locker and get to my first class.
It took only once to realize how that extra ten minutes of sleep messed with my day. I had to make the effort to be up on time—that was my responsibility.

We can ask God for help, yet we need tomake an effort too. Solomon asked for direction to rule his kingdom (1 Kings 8); he still had to do the hard work to make it happen. In the same way, we can ask for guidance, then we must set our mind and body to the tasks before us.

Carolyn R. Wilker is an author, editor and storyteller from Ontario. Reading came easily in primary school, and she was hooked on books and words.https://www.carolynwilker.ca/

Time Slipped Away

#inspiration, Bible, momentsI’ve often heard people say that time slipped away. In my case this was a literal statement when my watch slipped out of my hand, hit a concrete floor and ended up in three pieces.

After several attempts I put it back together, minus a little plastic part that would no longer fit. The second hand started moving in its normal rhythm and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Later I glanced at my watch and was pleased to see how much I’d accomplished in a short time. Wait, something wasn’t right. The time hadn’t progressed since the watch had been dropped. Although the second hand continued its sweep, the message wasn’t getting to the other hands.

Over the next few days, I was surprised at how often I checked my wrist for the time. It was a habit more than anything. Although I wasn’t constantly being updated by a clock, I still had the same amount of time to use each day.

It’s up to me to either use it wisely or squander it. Is the importance of making the most of my time getting through to me or am I like that broken watch, going through the motions with nothing to show for the effort? Time should be made up of captured moments which turn into treasured memories.

The Bible tells us there is a time for everything. I’d hate to think I missed mine by letting it slip away.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV)

No Need For Speed

lessons, #inspiration, timeTime had slipped away and now I was in a rush to get to work. I quickly gathered my lunch and threw it in my tote bag before heading out the door.
Travelling a familiar route, I followed another vehicle without paying much attention to my surroundings.

Suddenly I became aware of being in a playground zone. The car in front had not decelerated and I was blindly following. My brakes were quickly applied as I slowed to the required speed. No flashing lights were behind me so the only penalty was self- imposed. I resolved to slow down and be more mindful of my actions.

After arriving at work I reached into my bag to remove my lunch and realized my water bottle had tipped onto my sandwich, crushing it. That’s what happens when I don’t take the time to place things properly in the bag, I thought. Little did I know things were about to get worse!

It seems in my haste to get out of the house, I hadn’t fastened the top of my water bottle properly. A squished sandwich was the least of my worries as I rescued my belongings from the now soggy bottom of the bag.

While drying the bag and its contents I thought about the lessons I’d just been given. Each instance occurred because I was in a hurry. If I had only slowed down and paid proper attention to what I was doing, none of this would have happened. The faster I tried to go, the more recovery had to be done later. In the future, I need to remember that I actually have more time when I don’t rush.

“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed at how much more life she had time for.” Unknown

Got a Minute?

#inspiration, encouragementIsn’t it amazing how sixty seconds can seem like forever sometimes? Other times that minute attaches to others and they fly by so quickly we wonder where the time went.

In a seminar setting, I asked a question and then gave one minute for the response. This was timed and most people were surprised by how long a minute seemed to take.

It reminded me of the time I told my young granddaughter, “I’ll be there in a minute.” She looked at me and said, “Is it going to be a long minute or a short minute?”

I guess it all depends on what we are doing in that minute. When I am engrossed in a project or doing something I enjoy, the minutes fly by all too quickly. If I’m waiting in a lineup they seem to take much longer.

The best use of my time is to spend it on someone else. I took a minute and sent a text message to a friend to say I appreciated her. The response I received said my message had encouraged her when she was feeling down. That was time well spent.

This was a reminder to invest my time wisely rather than squander it. Sometimes it only takes a minute to make a difference in someone’s life. Got a minute?

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. C.S. Lewis

The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. Stephen R. Covey

How Do You Share Your TIme?

Jesus, inspiration, eternityAnyone who has travelled to a Mexican tourist destination understands the persistence of people trying to convince them to attend a time share presentation.

On a recent vacation we faced this many times each day. When walking down the streets of the city it felt as though we were constantly being offered gifts in exchange for an hour of our time to attend a presentation. We knew from experience that the hours we’d have to spend and the pressure we’d face were not worth it for us.

I felt rude when we ignored the people and kept on walking. The few times we did stop to be polite the offers were sweetened when we declined. We were offered tickets, tours and cash. My husband would politely but firmly refuse all offers, saying he wasn’t willing to share his vacation time with them.

We talked about this later and said that the greatest time share is the one Jesus offers us. It doesn’t give us a week or two a year, but guarantees eternity with him. His offer never changes and no pressure is applied. I won’t be given more rewards if I hold out. There has never been a better offer than his and never will be. I am so grateful that because of my relationship with Jesus I will be sharing my time in eternity with him.

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3 NLT)

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NIV)

My Hourglass Life

God, love, inspirationDuring a recent dental check-up the hygienist asked if I was brushing my teeth for a full two minutes. After telling her that I really didn’t know, she gave me a cute little timer. It has a smiling tooth on each end and sand that takes two minutes to flow from the top to the bottom.

This got me to thinking of an hourglass and how it relates to my life.
When I was much younger my only thoughts of hourglass were related to the ideal body shape I wanted to achieve. Since that was not in the realm of possibility I filed this word in the recesses of my mind.

Now that I’m much older, and hopefully a little wiser, I view the hourglass in a totally different way. The sand is representative of the sands of time, slipping away. I have no idea how much time is left but I do know that it is less today than yesterday.

For this reason I need to make the most of each day. Unlike the sand in the hourglass, I can’t turn my day over and get the time back again. I don’t want to watch passively as the sand/time slips away.

No loving words should be left unspoken and no kindness left undone. God has given me a certain number of days and I don’t want to waste them. I need to consciously look for ways to use my time to reflect his light and love.

A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. (Job 14:5 NIV)

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