It’s School Time (8/26/2026)

Yesterday morning as I sat on my porch with my coffee in prayer, it struck me rather hard. It’s the first day of school in my little city. Where did summer go? My grandmother always told me that the older I get the faster time will pass. Well, this morning, her prediction really hit home. Where did March, April, May, June, July and August go? I had so many things I’d planned to accomplish in 2026 and few if any of them has been ticked off. True, life has a way of happening regardless of plans and lists, but it really seems to be going so fast.

And my soul said, slow down. I had a long talk with myself then. “Slow down, really?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I be hitting the gas pedal about now?” But then I realized that the Spirit was trying to tell me to be intentional. Think about what it is I need to get done and work at it intentionally and methodically. Life is still going to break out at intersections near me; I am probably not going to get things done at the speed I’d like, but the LORD who created time will ensure I have enough. The question isn’t where do I get more time, but rather the question is how do I use the time I have.

Time is a gift to us. No one is more guilty than I of not always using it well. But today it really hit me. I thought of my sister Betty in her last year of battling cancer. What she could accomplish in a day was miraculous. And then I thought, “What she would have given for another day.” And I thought of my brother Randy with his family in those six weeks he had between his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and his death. I know how hard he fought for more time. And I resolved immediately to use my time more wisely.

Life is odd in that we never feel we have enough, yet we are also capable of using what we have as if there were no end. Again, time is a gift. It was given to be used well, to be used lovingly and with intent. The intent might be to slow down and to reflect. The intent might be to spend a portion every day on someone else’s need, not just our own. The intent might be to spend time daily in prayer with the LORD. All of these are good; they show intent.

Those of us on the journey regard time as any gift from the LORD, a grace to be grateful for and to use well. Today, as I spied the school buses rolling by, I was reminded of the investment the LORD has made in me with time. I promise to use it more wisely. I pray that others on the way take time today to reflect on the gift of time, and resolve to use it intentionally, use it well, use it lovingly.

Until tomorrow, love well.