Time...

Yesterday I went to the doctor for a checkup.  After going through the routine, I found out I need to see hime again in a few weeks so I had to make an appointment before I left.  The appointment setters were working with other patients so I had to stand in line...well not in line because I was the only one wating, but you get the point.  The patient who was in the office was an older woman, and I could tell by the conversation that her business in the office was done, however she kept talking to the appointment setter about all kinds of things.  Honestly, my first thought was, "Come on! I could be in there and done by now."

However, I thought about her a little bit more, as I could not help but hear her conversation.  She talked about how it had been 10 years since she lost her husband, and what a great marriage they had.  Then it hit me.  The person probsbly closest to her in the world that she shared everything with is gone.  No more coming home and talking about the days events, no more sharing a laugh or a simple smile with that special someone, no more telling that person the same story you have already told them a hundred times but are telling it again anyway.

Ashamed of myself, I thought, "She needs to talk.  She just needs TIME to talk."

TIME!  That's it.  TIME is what we can give to others.  It costs nothing, yet it is priceless.  People need us to give them time, yet many times we are selfish with it...like a two year old holding the last chocolate chip cookie. 

I was thrilled to come to this realization, but as I type this, I also realize that it is not just total strangers who need my time, it is those closest to me.  And giving time is not sharing a roof with someone it is giving your undevided attention. 

One day time will run out, whether I keep it to myself or give it away, it will be gone, and I will either be left with an empty bottle where the sand used to be, or I will be left with a botlle full of memories that takes the place of the sand.

The Beginning...

One of my favorite movies is "The Wizard of Oz."  At one point of the movie, Dorothy is talking with the "Good Witch" about seeing the Wizard.  The Good Witch says to her that "it is always best to start at the beginning."

Many of us get frustrated in life because we feel stuck.  I wonder if sometimes this is because we are trying to start in the middle and not the beginning.  There are also trimes in our lives when we need to start over, and many people (including me) start over in the middle and not the beginning. 

We look at the beginning as a failure, as if to say, "Why am I still here?"  But the beginning is also the beginning of conversion, and conversion is wonderful when we are converting ourleves from selfish wants to the wants of Christ.