It's Just A Matter of Time -- Part I

For everything there is a season, 

and a time for every matter under heaven. -Ecc. 3:1

At the end of Spring 2010, just a week or so before finals were starting, I found myself with 5 papers to write, 1 to present, 2 additional ones from classmates to edit, and 9 days in which to do it all. I was stressed. And engaged. Which means I'd rather be planning the wedding.

Something I began learning that very week is that casting my anxiety on the Lord results in the most abundant life. More specifically, I began learning that when I choose not to be stressed about the circumstances that surround me, I have the freedom to enjoy other activities to the fullest. 

After figuring out my this is the ONLY way everything will possibly fit into 9 days schedule, I wrote it down in my journal and added, "I know that at the end of these 9 days, I will look back on this list, exhausted but alive, and remark on how faithful the Lord is to bring me through."

Eventually, this lesson about casting my anxiety on the Lord morphed into a lesson about the wise use of time (probably as an attempt to never wind up with that much work at the end of the semester again). This is a lesson I'm still learning, especially as I'm taking preposterous amounts Spanish, writing a senior thesis, working a job, and being a wife.

So something I've been thinking about recently, in light of still learning this lesson, is that in order to do everything excellently, I have to devote myself 100% to whatever I'm doing at the moment. Then when I move to something else, I have to leave the last thing behind and do that new thing to the fullest. When I'm doing Spanish, I'm doing nothing else and thinking of nothing else. When I'm done, I feel productive and accomplished, and have the freedom to just cook dinner without being stressed about how I didn't work hard enough at Spanish.

Whether it's Spanish, thesis, cooking, cleaning, shopping, or anything else, by living in this way, I can fully enjoy everything that I do, and I can do it well! This never worked when I was working on a project and compulsively checking my email, facebook, phone for texts, etc. Maybe I spent 2 hours on a project, but I was unfulfilled and frustrated at the end because I didn't really get anything done.

In the following journal entry from that spring, I said, "...I can give myself a cat nap, attend a couple bridal showers, watch 24 with Levi, or spend some time in school-less stillness with him to recharge myself. God has used these moments to remind me that I can both work and rest, and that He will give me the ability to do both excellently." And just as a shout-out to God's faithfulness...I am amazed to say that out of the 6 classes I took that semester, 5 of them were As and 1 was a B -- the best semester of my PHC career.

So I ask you. How do you use your time? I encourage you to do something productive even in those spare 5 or 10 minutes between tasks or scheduled engagements. And if you don't already, you should just try devoting yourself completely to one thing at a time, and see if your morale isn't improved even a little. (And get this. When it's time to be on facebook, you can be...without feeling guilty!)

Stay tuned for Part II, where I'll share some creative ways I've found to spend those spare minutes -- even if it's only 2!