The Time of My Life

Happy Fall! My part of the south is finally, finally beginning to see a little bit of a break in temperatures. (although I’m sure many of you would laugh that I think high 80s is a temperature break!) But this coming week looks like we may finally start to see some cool(er) nights and for that, I’m thrilled. My husband and I have grand plans to have a fire in our new fire pit and roast some marshmallows.

As I was considering my post for this month, I decided to share something that’s been really helpful to me lately. Many of you have read my posts in the past and know that my family has been on a roller coaster of sorts over the last year or so, and we’ve recently moved to a new town and are finally beginning to settle in. In doing so, we’ve found a church that feels like “home” and are beginning to be involved there. I can’t tell you what a huge blessing that has been for us.

We’ve started going to a small group study each week with a handful of other couples who aren’t “native” to this city and we’ve been studying—are you ready for this??—Time. If you have read my posts here previously, you know that TIME (time management, time slipping away, using time wisely, etc.) is one of my biggest struggles. I’m thinking it wasn’t a coincidence that at this moment in my life, this group of people asked us to join their group! (don’t you love it when you can actually step back and SEE God working in your life?)

Anyway, one of the very first discussion topics used a visual composed of a jar, some large rocks, and some pebbles. Many of you may have already seen this, but it was new to me.

Here’s a quick explanation for those who may not have heard of this: the jar represents all the time you have in your life. The rocks equal the most important things that get the majority of your time. The pebbles are the things that are not as important, but still take up time.

If you pour the pebbles in first, the jar is full. There’s no room for the rocks. But if you put the rocks in first, the pebbles will go in easily and fill in the empty spaces around the rocks.

We were asked to consider our own lives and how we spend our own time. How often do we put things that should be pebbles ahead of things that should be rocks? I know I do!

It’s made me consider things in a different way—I’ve had to re-evaluate how I’m spending my time and honestly, it’s not pretty! Spending time on my phone—whether it be browsing social media or playing a game, is sometimes a rock…and it should NOT be. Watching TV can be a rock for me, too…and it sure doesn’t deserve to be. I’m not saying don’t use your phone or watch TV, but I’m saying that for me, in my own life, I sometimes need to step away from those things and see them for what they are—and focus more on the things that are really important to me.

Over the past weeks, I’ve been really considering how I’m spending my time. Because let’s face it—time is fleeting! Johnny and I will celebrate five years of marriage this weekend, and it seems like it passed in a blink. I think about the quote from Ben Franklin—do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of—and I realize that time is something you can’t get back!

Psalms 90 (using the NLT here) says “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” This is one of those verses that a few years ago I may have read over and moved on. But now, I read it with the realization that our time on earth is limited. None of us know how many years we have.

So for me, I’ve really started being more deliberate with my limited hours each day. Spending time in God’s word, spending time in prayer, spending time with my family, spending time focused on work…those are the things that need to be rocks in my jar. Facebook, Instagram, my DVR full of shows, mindless iPhone games…those things are pebbles.

How about you? Do you have things in your life that have become rocks…but need to be pebbles?

And as a side note, for those of you who don’t read my newsletter and are still waiting on A Reservation for Romance to release, here’s the updated information!

I hope you each have a wonderful month!

Annalisa Daughety (52 Posts)

Annalisa Daughety writes contemporary fiction set in historic locations, including the Walk in the Park series, Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio, and A Wedding to Remember in Charleston, South Carolina. She lives in Arkansas and is hard at work on her next book.