Where did it go?
Where did it go?
“As time goes by, many years will pass.” This was the off-handed, tongue-in-cheek statement my college buddies would wisecrack to each other when we were chafing at some seemingly irresolvable problem or irritating class that we were enduring. “It’ll be over eventually” was the thought, I guess. But what we didn’t know then is how fast that time would go.
My wife, Renee, and I were recently in Fort Collins, CO, the city where we met four decades ago to the month. She turned to me as we were driving down College Avenue and said: “Do you believe it!?” It took me a second, but it was soon clear what she was saying: where did all those forty years go? Two children, five grandchildren, five moves involving three cities, career changes, medical dramas, four pets and travels all over the globe and here we are. We are two people in our mid-sixties who marvel at all that’s happened seemingly in the blink of an eye. Where did it go indeed!
I was reminded by a client today that the most precious of all our gifts is the gift of time. And as the clock winds down on the waning years of my life, I am struck with the importance of intentionality when it comes to each waking minute. And here are the questions I am disciplining myself to ask:
Am I using my day productively?
Will my time be used in helping others improve their lives”
Are the ones I love most getting the best hours, days, weeks… etc.?
Do my actions point others toward something greater than themselves?
Am I having fun?
Am I preparing for eternity?
There are other ancillary questions, but these are the basic ones that I would like to use as a a template for deciding what I do and when I do it. I would encourage anyone who reads this to take those questions and apply them to a week of your life and see if they don’t have an effect on how you choose to spend your time. Remember, as time goes by, many years will pass!
~ Jim
