Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
I was fifteen minutes late to work today due to poor choices from the moment the alarm clock went off. I hit the snooze button. Twice. My morning routine is so set that I can do it with my eyes closed. Some mornings I do just that! Roll out of bed. Let the dogs out. Fix youngest son’s lunch. Throw a load of wash in the washer. Start the crock pot to cook for dinner. Feed horses. Shower. Dress. Grab my purse, cell phone and yogurt. By 7:15, I need to be out the door. Other than the delayed rise time, I started out well. No school on Mondays means no lunch to fix. Last night’s laundry went in the dryer and another load in the washer. I rinsed and seasoned some whole chickens for the roasting pan which will give us two meals this week. Then, before feeding horses, I varied my routine and that is where my morning derailed. I stopped to check the kiln and yesterday’s fused pieces. I really like the design of the glass and hope it will make into a pretty bowl. I took time to admire it. I removed a lot of tiny pieces that I use to fill up the kiln so I don’t run an empty load. Those will be embellishments in future work. It takes time to pick them all out of the kiln. When I finally got out to the barn, time was already getting away from me. With the cooler air this morning, the horses didn’t want to come in and were running around the pasture chasing each other. I hurried up to throw their grain in their buckets and hay in their stalls. That got their attention, and they settled down for breakfast. I ran back into the house to shower and dress, remembering to put on my jewelry which I sometimes forget to do. I made it by 7:15 and was ready to walk out the door, but I think that there was a cosmic time vortex because though I was standing with my keys in my hand at 7:15, the next thing I knew it was 7:30, and I was late for work. As usual, the inevitable happened. I couldn’t find my purse and phones and forgot to leave a check for the farrier who is coming today to do Trucker’s feet. Then, when I turned on the car, it showed the low fuel light. I didn’t stop for gas and coasted in on fumes. I figured if I ran out, I would have a valid excuse, “car problems,” for being late to work. Sigh. I pack so much into every minute, but I need to remember to leave time for those unplanned events. It is in those unexpected moments that I have the most opportunities to do something kind or be a witness to God’s glory. It would help if I didn’t use the snooze setting on my alarm clock
Tis true of us all: We spend our time…but do we spend it wisely?
I must confess that I often spend oodles of time unwisely.