I always think back to a past conversation with a friend about change, transitions and life paths when she reminded me that no time is ever wasted.
At this stage of life, I feel like I am always thinking about time. Wondering where it went as I sit in our empty, empty-nest home. Wishing it would go faster as I count down the days to go visit my little grandson in Kansas, and meet our soon-expected granddaughter in September. I still count back the tender Fridays since I lost my mom, and I spend considerable time thinking about the future and what that will look like.
Often, I look at seasons and experiences and try to precisely measure and quantify my life. I sort and assess and start to place values on different times. I usually end up discouraged and make extra-dramatic statements like, “What am I even doing with my life?” (I’ve noticed no one answers anymore, they just tell me to chill.)
But then I remember that our life is made up of measurements. From our first breath to last we are always counting moments, days, months and years. We are made up of our experiences. Even the parts of our lives that we don’t understand, have purpose. Why? Because we are always learning through everything that we go through, and we measure those seasons by time.
The good and the bad.
The joy and the pain.
The quick answers and the slow journeys to the next right thing.
No time is wasted because we live our lives through each moment, and each moment matters. Time is a valuable teacher – even if we have to wait and force ourselves to turn around and see what we’ve learned.
So while I wait on things, I try to adjust my perspective.
I focus on using my time well.
Prayerfully seek out what is next.
Offer presence to others.
Reach for the next part of the dream.
Find place in community.
Navigate and build relationships.
Because all the moments matter.
From traffic jams, cookies in the oven, new adventures and flowers blooming – to pain subsiding, bravery building, courage rising and insecurity defeating.
Everything with purpose takes time.
Even time lost, represents time that was.
I’ve decided in the seasons of gap where it feels like there’s no clear path or road and when I can’t see everything laid out in front of me in a nice, neat map that I’ll be ok. A journey isn’t always understood until you take a pause and look back.
Little by little.
So, keep moving forward through wherever you are now.
No time is ever wasted.