The value of a day…
It’s funny how when you are young, time seems to drag by before you can finally become an independent person, free to come and go as you please, free to drive a car, make money, travel the world, or make your own decisions. Yet, as we age, it is as if many of us wish that time would just slow down. It’s as if the fast forward button on an old VCR was stuck, and it won’t become unstuck. How then do we begin to value our days, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our enemies? It simply appears there is no time. Yet, if you can conjure up a chance to give yourself even 5-10 minutes to meditate on others and Christ, you may discover moments you will cherish forever.
For example, as a new mom, I received ill-suited advice on how to get your newborn baby to sleep. There was the ever common and non-helpful, “Cry it out method.” Turns out the method failed every time for me. As I waited for my son to have his cries lull him to sleep, sleep never came. Then I thought, what is 5 minutes? I can give 5 minutes to hold him, rock him, and gently place him back in his crib. I thought, there are 24 hours in a single day, why can I not be everything he needs for 5 minutes? And, like a charm he would almost always fall right to sleep. Apparently these 5 minutes blessed us both! I found the 5 minutes even more significant as it allowed me to stop all that I thought was important and simply focus on this tiny human I had been blessed with. Those are moments I will cherish forever. I can close my eyes and remember his warmth, his smile, his scent, and the beauty of slowly watching him drift off into sweet slumber. I realized that in 5 minutes, I had a restful baby.
I use this 5-10 minute method now in all I do. For example, I make it a point to my children to share 5 minutes of their day with me because I want to know everything about their day. Jokingly I tell them, “Maybe I wanted to see the color of your eyes.” Which they generally respond with a rolling of the eyes, or an extreme widening of their eyes followed by a, “There you saw them.”
Oh… my sweet children. Sigh… They needed a little guidance in the practice of giving at least 5 minutes of undivided attention to everything that God has blessed us with. Generally, we could all muster 5 minutes, and it would likely make us value everything. I find that I do have time to send a text to a dear friend surviving cancer, tell an estranged sibling I love them and miss them, or attentively listen to a stranger weep. And, we are all better for it, the giver and the receiver. It’s a win, win.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me pause for enough time to create cherished moments in which we emanate the glory of Your love to others. Let your light shine through us always with an attentive ear, a smile, loving advice, and our physical presence. I ask this in your name. Amen. By Isabel Anderson
Love thy neighbor as thyself 