Two days ago, I watched my daughter pass through airport security headed for a college too far away. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I realized the greatest gift I could have given her these quick moving past few months was my time. In that moment, even with the pain of already missing her, I felt the beautiful satisfaction of accomplishing just that.
My schedule cleared a couple of months ago in order to make room for my little girl, now very much a dream chasing young woman. We binge watched shows on Netflix, played at least a thousand card games around our kitchen table, went out to movies, and sat for long talks about her exciting future. It was so worth every second. SHE is so worth every second.
Do you have something or someone tugging at you for time? Is God asking you to step away from your usual daily tasks or busyness, even if for just a few days?
I understand there are duties like work you may have to contend with. I’m incredibly fortunate to be my own boss these days and can step away when I really need to. In either case, there are so many other tasks that we can all put on hold if necessary.
Social media, house cleaning, this blog, and many other things that use up my precious time came to a standstill. My home is a disaster. My blog has grown cobwebs.
But these things are not tragedies. I can spend time now catching up on housework and easily get our home presentable again. The internet didn’t go anywhere while I was away, so this blog will come back to life now. Everyone I knew on Instagram is still there for me to reconnect with.
Time is a finite resource. We must make hard choices on how to spend it. Always choose people first.
It will be 5 months before I’ll see my precious little angel, the platinum blonde, brown-eyed baby girl who came into my life 23 years ago and literally saved it. She grew my heart to a place it had never seen before. That incredible love ignited my journey to sobriety for which among many other things I’m forever grateful to her.
I’m resting in the fact I gave her this recent special time. All of it. All of me.
Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
~Ephesians 5:11-16 (MSG)
We may not be involved with tasks that must be pursued in darkness as Paul is warning the Ephesians of here. However, we can all heed some advice in his words from so long ago. Don’t waste time on mere busywork. Use our heads. Make the absolute most of every second we have. Use time wisely…
What can you give up for a while to spend a little more time with your people? Are you a constant Facebook scroller, email checker, TV watcher…? I personally can relate to each of these at times. They can be easy escapes, but our people need us and our immensely valuable undivided attention.
As always, thanks so much for being on this life journey with me. I’m truly grateful to be back with you today!
I try to compartmentalize my days by giving my full attention to the task I am working on or the people I am with. I don’t alway succeed, but I’m learning it is well worth the effort. My family time is my family time and my work time is my work time, and I try not to mix the two!
That’s something I really need work on, Sarah. When I need to spend special time with my people I usually just have to shut down work for a while. Balance is a foreign word to me :).
Candace, this is such a beautiful post bringing such wisdom. I think we can forget that while time is eternal it is also a finite resource. May we use it wisely each day. Your words brought this Scripture to mind … “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NLT) The NIV says, “Teach us to number our days.” So very true. Thank you for this reminder today! Blessings be upon both you and your daughter!
Thank you, Joanne. I love the reminder of that Psalm. It fits perfectly here :). Blessings to you as well!
Dear Candace … I always smile big when I see your name in my reader! What a beautiful ode to your purposeful, delightful mother / daughter season. You’ve sent her off well, that’s for sure.
And cobwebs, followers, blogs … all that comes and goes. But these our most precious relationships are worth every bit of our time and effort. Thank you for this gentle reminder.
And welcome back, friend …
Hi Linda! You have been missed the past couple of months. I’m so thankful for that special time with her. I completely agree with you about the things that come and go. Relationships can be here for a lifetime if we invest in them properly. They are definitely worth the effort.
Every post I’ve visited today has had a variation of this theme. The idea about where we’re investing our time, our lives, ourselves. (maybe God’s trying to tell me something?!)
I feel so blessed and equally convicted that God is revealing this to me in grace. Praying for help knowing how to shift things to His glory.
Visiting from #threewordwednesday
I love when God makes it obvious He’s trying to tell me something, Becky. It can take a lot for me to finally open my eyes at times :). I pray with you for Him to shift things accordingly. Thanks for visiting!
YES!! First of all, I teared up reading about the VALUABLE time you spent with your beloved daughter before she left- and it made me think of all the times I need to be more dedicated to my OWN children. Your message speaks to me and convicts me to reassess my own time and what steals it- is there purpose in all the tasks I ‘achieve’? Does God want me to spend it elsewhere? This was such an important reminder for me, my friend. So thank you. I needed it.
So very valuable, my friend. I need to remember this with my son who is still at home and not let precious time slip by with my attention elsewhere. It’s tough to find that elusive concept people call balance. I’m so glad this helped you, Chris.
So glad you got to do that.
Thank you, Susan. Me too :).
It’s good to read this at the start of the year. So our year won’t go to waste.
Cheers to a productive 2017!
What a great goal to set for the year, to spend more time with our people, Lux. Those times are truly never wasted. Cheers to you!
So thankful for the special memories made with your daughter. I can spend far too much time on social media. I am being more intention this year to give my family, friends and those around me more of my time. Thank you for sharing!
I want to set that intention as well, Barbie. I need to spend more time with my hubby and son instead of opening my laptop in the evenings. I plan to set work hours instead of just letting that time bleed over into everything else. So good to see you!
I tell myself “People over projects.” Yes, I have to remind myself, but it’s always, always worth it. I feel like the more we choose people, the more natural a reaction that becomes as we go about life. I’m so glad you got quality time with your daughter. I hope she thrives at school. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday. I’m so glad to have you there. xoxo
I so agree with you, Kristin. The more we choose people, the more natural it becomes. Thanks for that lovely reminder. I’m glad to be joining you again :).
I have to admit that my heart sank a little bit as I read your post! My oldest daughter is a sophomore in high school, but I already know that the next two and a half years are going to fly by!! Thank you for the reminder to continue investing in her, my younger daughter, and all the other people in my life who mean so much to me. I know I’ll never be sorry that I set aside my to-do list, my housecleaning, or my latest project in order to spend time with my loved ones and friends.
You are so right, Tracey. You’ll never be sorry to put aside those other tasks for your people. Many blessings to you and your precious daughters!
“Time is a finite resource. We must make hard choices on how to spend it. Always choose people first.” This, yes, this, yes, this! Amen Candance. So glad you had your priorities in order and spent time with the precious ones that matter most! 🙂
They were precious moments, Nicki. That’s for sure. I wouldn’t change a thing :).
My girls are still young enough that I thank you for this reminder that time does go very quickly and that I need to make sure that I try to enjoy what I can and be present for them. So thank you seriously for your message here today!
You are so welcome, Janine. It can be tough, especially through the teen years. We just have to take whatever time they will give us sometimes :). Being present in those moments is key.
Every day I set aside some time for by baby girl where she gets my undivided attention and we do whatever she wants to do. But the reality is that I can’t spend all day rolling around on the floor with her. There are things that need doing.
The only way to maximize our time with our loves ones is to get them involved in the things we need to get done as much as possible. There are things that required my full attention and that time can’t be shared with other people. But there are also plenty of things I do that I can easily divide my attention while doing.
Some of my best memories with my parents involve moments of everyday life. Watching my mom cook while I told her about my doll, or listening to my dad read the newspaper out loud. Those little things foster a sense of involvement and belonging. I want to pass those values along to my daughter and teach her that everyday moments can be very special if we engage and allow others in. #happynowlinkup
What great memories of you and your parents. It really is those little special moments, even in everyday life, that we carry with us. I agree there are things we must do at times but other some tasks can certainly be put aside when they need to be. Thanks for visiting!
“Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.”
Wow that is powerful and so true!
So much truth in those words of long ago, Jen. They were very necessary and eye-opening for me.
What a beautiful post. Time is so precious. Thank you for the reminder.
#happynowlinkup
Thank you, Barrie! It’s a reminder I need daily as well :).
So true! It’s funny how we find it pretty easy to put all the non-essentials of life on hold when there’s a tragedy, but it’s important to be able to do that for the things that matter most on a normal Wednesday afternoon when your kids need your attention, too. Thanks for the reminder.
#happynowlinkup
Yes! I completely agree, Jenny. It’s in those precious moments of normal, routine afternoons that we need to stay aware of this the most.
Such an important reminder.Now I can’t wait for my girls to get home from school so we can spend some time together. Thanks for joining us at the #happynowlinkup!
That is so sweet, Leslie! I will miss my daughter coming home from school every day but she will be home for the summer. I’ll be taking some special time off then as well. Luckily, my son is still home with me so I have those daily precious moments with him :). I hope you and your girls have a wonderful afternoon!
I listened to a podcast recently about just being busy for the sake of being busy isn’t God’s purpose for us and that really resonated with me. Thanks for giving me another reminder 🙂
I love that thought, Sonya! Sounds like a great podcast. Thanks for sharing :).
candace – i’d like to link your post about talking to depression if I have your permission – to a post I’m putting out late March – okay? and what’s the best link? My email is below. thank you.
Hi Sue, I would love for you to share my post anytime. Thank you. I’ll email you to get more info on exactly which post you’re thinking of using.