Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

Make the best use of your time, because the days are evil.  Ephesians 5:16

     How much time do you waste each day?  It's a good and important question.  Answering it truthfully may not be easy.  Now that the days are shorter I am trying to be more careful of what I do after 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  It is hard to get "it all" done. 
     For over two weeks, my husband and I have been running ourselves to the point of exhaustion.  Thank goodness for DVR because we haven't been home to watch NCIS!  Unfortunately, life doesn't have a DVR to store precious moments to live out later.  Time is an important issue for me.  And God knows that.
     Some things just have to happen.  Job.  Laundry.  Mowing grass (well, one or two more times this year).  Some things are easier to leave undone, but usually the person that is impacted by those things is me.  Obligation, or maybe guilt, drives me a lot of the time.  Who will do it if I don't?  A better question is, am I doing (this thing) out of a sense of duty or out of love?
     What bothers me about being so busy is all the wasted time.  Running around, taking care of this and that, leaves me frazzled and fatiqued.  In two weeks we have grabbed whatever food we drove passed and inhaled it so as to save time for all the stuff we are doing.
     We have been talking a lot at our church lately about having a heart to serve others.  I am neglecting my family to hurry and serve other people.  It's time for me to take back some time.  This past Sunday our ladies class talked about the little things we do daily that serve the people close to us.  I need to cook a meal for my husband.  Poor Caitlin came home for a long weekend and never got a home-cooked meal. 
     The things we have been doing are necessary.  They are important.  However, I think it is crazy to keep going like this and miss time that can't be reclaimed.  Beginning now I am going to make a concentrated effort to give my family some of my time every day.  I know I have to be realistic and admit that I probably won't cook a meal every night.  We do have things in our lives that require a lot of our time.  Maybe I should watch that "Almost Homemade" show!
     Seriously, I don't want to miss anymore time.  I have too many blessings to rush around taking them for granted or ignoring them altogether.  God has given me people to love and who love me more than I deserve. Yes, I do want to be sure I am reaching out to share the love of Christ in big and small ways with all the people who come into my life each day.  Yes, I do want to be sure I am reaching in to share the love of Christ in big and small ways with the people who live in my home. 
     As the song goes, time keeps on slippin' into the future.  What are you missing?  You can't push the the rewind button on the DVR in real life.  Don't let another minute pass you by unlived.  Guard your time so that you enjoy friendships.  Plan your day so that mundane tasks get done and you have time to sit and talk - even if for just a few minutes.  Decide what you are going to do to minister...to strangers and to your closest and dearest family and friends.  We don't have time to waste!