Do you ever wish there were more than 24 hours in a day? In my search for that elusive ‘perfect’ daily schedule, I reached the conclusion that it wasn’t me trying to fit too much in, oh no, it was because there were only 24 hours in which to fit everything. I wrote a list of ‘things’ I had to fit in order for my days to be healthy ones. My conclusion? Clearly not enough hours in the day!
Only, that is not what the Bible say in Ecclesiastes:
There is a time for everything,
So how do I know what is important to keep and what should go? Everything on my list looks like a good choice, but clearly something is not if it does not fit into the twenty-four hour God has gifted me with. This is confirmed in the next verse:
and a season for every activity under the heavens.
When I was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, my mindset on many things changed. The way I perceived time was one of the biggest changes. Suddenly, even though my prognosis was largely positive, I thought about the concept of time running out. It was the first time it had entered my head that I wouldn’t be here forever. Each time a fear of dying came over me, instead of thinking of my life in years, months or even weeks, I thought of my life in days. Yes, the cancer may return, but right now I am alive and well. Today, this day, I am living and breathing. And this day, I shall live with all of my heart, with all my being, with all my mind…
And so it is four years later. I see my life in terms of days because it gives clarity and an aliveness I had never felt before. I have twenty four hours right now that I will never have again and tomorrow, well who knows? – I may not have those twenty four hours. Only God knows. So I very much live in the right now, and throw myself into wringing every last minute out of the day. It is a rather pleasant, fear free way to live. No, I don’t mean I have no fear at all. Each time I feel a lump that wasn’t there before, or have a pain which does not go away over a period of time, I am afraid. But each time, I reassure myself, that I am alive today, and I will live with all of my might today.
Lately (as in the past year or so) I have been feeling a bit more tired than normal, and so have looked at my lifestyle to see if there are things I can change which can gift me (and my family) with more energy to enjoy our todays. This has brought me to my current pondering. What do I choose to keep in our schedule and what do I get rid of. Or to put it simpler, what is stealing my energy and what gifts me with more energy? I will share what I am learning as the weeks go on.
What are absolute essentials for you to have in your daily routine? And what do you notice steals both your joy and your energy? Do share in the comments, I might learn something!