Check it out: this woman gets up while it's still dark outside to prepare meals, attend to the items on her agenda, and fill her provider role. Still dark. Oof. If this was the single item on a "Woman of Noble Character" test, I would fail. This woman doesn't waste her time. She knows not only how much time she needs to do all the things on her list, but she also knows how much time she needs to do those things well. She uses her time wisely.
Over my years of being a student, I've gotten pretty good at determining how much time I need to get an assignment done. Not necessarily to get it done well, just to get it done. This sometimes stems out of a time crunch; as in, I don't have the time to spend on doing everything well. But more often, it stems out of apathy. I often don't care about the quality of my daily homework like readings or journal entries. I know exactly how much time and effort I need to put in to the assignment in order to get the result/grade/understanding I want. This frees me up to use my extra time doing mindless things, like watching TV or playing FreeCell.
I am a staunch supporter of the "I need decompress time." But I tend to take this too far, sometimes sacrificing my homework for more "decompress time." Since starting this series, I've asked myself, "Is this what the WoNC would do?" The answer is...probably not. Does that make me feel guilty? Little bit.
Since I've built most of my undergrad degree on quite a lot of "work smart, not hard," my plan is to turn that around when I do my master's. I want to work smart and work hard. Use my time wisely and learn everything I possibly can. Ideally, all of my classes will be endlessly interesting, but I know that this won't be true, which means it will be even harder to apply this new mindset. Time to buck up, right?
The other implication that I see from this passage is the idea that time is finite and therefore we should take advantage of it. Each person has a finite amount of time in which to live, regardless of how invincible we all think we are. Admit it. You think that tragedy won't happen to you. I often think that way. I drive faster than I should because I think I'm a good driver and in control of my car and therefore a car accident can't happen to me. But all it would take would be another car turning in front of me to smash that illusion to pieces.
Do I live as if I could die at any moment? No, because it would be depressing to live in anticipation of death. But do I live as if Jesus could return at any moment? Nope. I know I should, but I somehow always get too tired, too busy, too overworked, too something. I don't use my time wisely in the global sense.
I guess my point is this: how much more could we be doing if we kept in mind the fact that our time is limited? How much more good could we do if we actively sought ways to brighten other peoples' lives? If your time left on earth was cut down to 15 minutes, would you spend it watching TV or saying "I love you" to as many people you could find?
Well Andrea, when you frame it that way, of course it's easy to pick the I love yous. But do we actually live that way? I don't, but I want to. It's highly unlikely that someone will be around 15 minutes before you die to warn you. The next 15 minutes could be your last.
So the next time you find yourself with a spare 15 minutes, tell someone you love them. Surprise them with an act of kindness. Tell someone how much they mean to you. Tell them you're thinking about them or praying for them. Make their day.
God, I pray that you would help me to realize when I'm not using my time wisely and to shift my focus to something worthy of the woman of noble character. Help me to remember that the work I do is not just for me, but for your glory too. I want to be a faithful image-bearer. I pray that you would use me to bring good to others, whether I have 15 minutes or 15 years with them. Amen.
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