Lately I’ve been feeling a bit sparse in my life as for time. I had a few phone calls over the past few days followed up with students or teachers needing to talk about something which may be on their mind…all of these items have demanded their fair share of my limited amounts of time. Each day I seem to find that my “in” box is increasing exponentially in size while the “out” box—the one the world may look at and judge me by—with very few items to show for my day in it. However, as I look at these two boxes I ask myself, “Are the items in them really all that important?” Well, in reality the answer is yes…they are all things which I need to get done. However, which of these items carry with them the greatest value? Which items are the most important and will be treasured the most later, either by me or others?
When the phone rings and I feel that I have nothing left to offer, I find myself thinking…would I rather have a life where nobody called and I was always left alone, with unlimited amounts of time?
No, I would not.
An old friend of mine once said, “It is better to wear out than to rust out.” As I think of this I find myself grateful for the people who have need of the time which I give…not always can I give as much as I’d like, but it is these defining moments which help to make us who we are. Furthermore, there are others out there who do the exact same thing for me, even when these times may just be the slightest bit inconvenient and their own time may be limited.
So while the “in” box may just keep on giving, I realize that my greatest feeling of accomplishment is when I invest the majority of my time with those who carry the greatest worth.
7 comments:
Time...I need more of that!
I am always hoping to get the most important things done and still feel like I should have done more.
You are just adorable. When should we get married?? I love reading your blog.
I know exactly where you are coming from with this blog! I have days where I just want to ignore the ringing of the phone because I know its going to be one more thing taking away from my time. While I like to help I have noticed that I am not always able to find the time to accomplish my own goals while helping others reach for theirs...I never looked at it from the perspective of "do I want to be unneeded, where no one ever calls or not", I just end up going to bed, looking at my accomplishments for the day and feel like I have failed. I still have boxes to unpack, classroom reading to catch up on, personal goals to reach...amazing how we don't often take a hard look to see what good we have done in another person's life. As the song asks "have I done any good in the world today?" I need to keep that in mind more often.
Agreed. Making a difference in others lives - as well as our own - is what matters in the end. I try to do something for someone else every day because it makes me feel like a better person. Sure, there are days when I say, "I made 3 meals for these people that live here with me - that counts", but reaching out beyond the family circle helps keep me aware of what others' needs may be and how I can help.
KJ,
I would like to have a few extra hours in my pocket that I could whip out whenever I'm feeling rushed...
Shay-Shay,
Got plans for Saturday? I'll be at CSZ.
Shoe,
Good points. I want to you know that I appreciate all of the time you take out of your schedule for me.
Gerb,
I think you're right, sometimes reaching beyond the family at large makes us remember that there is a world out there of people with needs.
Speaking of which, the girl whose name which rhymes with nothing had a journal entry about the greatest act of kindness...you really should read it. Also, she shared an example of your husband's kindness to complete strangers when your family was having a picnic. When I asked if you or your husband had talked to her about it she said no, you hadn't. It was the example which had spoken to her. Thanks for teaching your kids...I appreciate it.
It is quite hard to come up with a response to your amazing posts...what words even come close to what I want to say about the impact that your words, thoughts, and existence make on a person...on me? So, because it is late and my time for the day is well past spent and that it takes me until nearly 1am to get my out-box taken care of, I don't think I will say anything...which I already have, but since you know me, are you really that surprised?
I used to worry that I would never get it all done. Now it's just a fact.
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