Time Tested
Dear Reader,
Since starting this blog I have managed regular posts. At the beginning and for a while I wrote, edited, and produced weekly. Then, other life necessities demanding attention obliged posting every other week and after mid-summer–an abrupt nothing; an unexplained void.
Yet, a void suggests dead air space, a vacuum where nothing breathes or lives; time remains suspended and inert. Nothing could be farther from my truth and I’m not sure what God is trying to say about it.
Time to Do What is Asked
It’s been weeks since publishing the last post in a series about the strange gifts of the Holy Spirit (refer: The Holy Spirit: So We Can Do What Is Asked). Reflecting on why we do not see more active workings of the Holy Spirit in our churches and faith lives the series culminated in a soft glove challenge, the gauntlet drawn rendering a gentle slap in the face.
My face still bears the red imprint of blood rushing to the surface… perhaps marking an abrupt wake up or perhaps signaling rising shame. Where is the courage to ask God for more fantastic and hopeful things that make for a powerful God in us?
“They received what they needed to sustain hope…”
Carolin M. Paradis “The Holy Spirit: So We Can Do What Is Asked“
God has given me gifts and the gifting continues. The one I forget to give thanks for is the gift of time.
The Hourly Rate of Time Attitude
My problem–not enough time. Pressed on all sides I drop certain activities that help my health and well-being. The perceived shortage results in pairing down: less time in prayer, no meditation, skipped Sunday services, cancelled social visits, reduced fitness activities, and, heaven forbid… no writing. And resentment grows against people who carelessly squander my portion. Though after reflection I suspect the real problem is not time itself but more my time attitude. This is a stumbling block in my relationship with God.
Contract work consumed my summer, my energy poured into the planning and deployment of a fund-raiser golf tournament. Working with many templates–lists, schedules, programs, etc–everything had a time and a place for delivery. No more telling was my billable hours: the minutes, hours and days minutely calculated, each increment counted, described and logged; a jealous, constricted accounting with not much space for God’s expansive nature.
Time that seemed inadequate God proved otherwise. Yes, I had to juggle priorities. I dropped things I ordinarily do, to do things I don’t do ordinarily. The tournament rolled out and on time. God proved there was enough, but I was late to the table in trusting the delivered quotient, my hourly rate of time attitude needing a new accounting.
“Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of time. Your grace allows me time and space to do what I must. To do what is asked.”
To be continued…
What is the stumbling block that challenges you in your relationship with God?
My stumbling block with God is health and having to deal with every family members issues.Like you I wish there was more time in the day. Missed your posts but can totally understand why you were unable to.
Hello Kim,
How wonderful to hear from you. I hope you and your family are well.
It seems to me it is often through our personal challenges that God calls us to trust; to trust there is enough of everything – time, health, money, and so on, but most of all love; God’s love for us in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. We are never alone and never without love.
Carolin