When is there Time for me?

When is there Time for Me?

Keeping track of 2 toddlers and a tween-ager, along with working on a doctorate, cultivating

my marriage and running a business seems like 4 full time jobs. How many young women

and men feel the relentless pressure to produce, to be responsible, to be there for other people,

yet yearn for time be creative?

There was a time when I played the guitar, sang in the choir, played the piano, and wrote poetry and short stories.

There was time when I rode horses for fun and prepared for marathons and silly fundraisers like Outhouse races!

There was the time when I sat in coffee shops with my girlfriends and we pondered the possibilities of

relationships, of potential families, of traveling, of diving into non-profit work.

There was a time when thinking about what will be consumed my thoughts.

And there was the time when I was so immersed in competing priorities that I felt like I was always on the go.

When I got overwhelmed, I would feel sorry for myself, and complain: But where is the time for me?

Then, one day, it occurred to me that all of these commitments, connections, and time consuming activities were me.

They were my choices. My decisions were the cause of all these commitments and pressures.

I had to stop my mind from thinking that someone else put me on this fast track with so many responsibilities.

Acknowledging the Gifts

It was important to recognize the gift that each commitment was. And then, it was important to acknowledge that

each one of the commitments evolved over the years. With the help of a thoughtful husband,

the children grew up to be interesting and loving young adults.

Graduate school eventually yielded the doctorate, and the business specialized into opportunities I could

never have dreamed about. Sharing with others, taking the time to use that creativity to listen to people,

to explore solutions, and to help them turn their dreams into realities has been something I enjoy doing.

The creativity I had expressed in music and in writing, moved into fulfilling needs of people who needed healing.

These experiences helped me to provide better guidance to my students and clients.

I relied on that creativity to think outside the box and solve the problems as they arrived.

These all happened because I was me, had always been me, and that whole time had been about

expressing the me that the Creator shaped and guided. The time had always been for me to find

and fulfill the needs presented to me with the gifts that I had been given.

Finding Resilience

My friend reminds me that not everyone is able to find joy in their choices and joy in the life  they are living.

Many people are still experiencing the hardships: the fear of not belonging; not having consistent income;

not having the blessing of a helpful spouse; not able to realize that they deserve to be happy

and to use the situation confronting them as springboards to new opportunities.

Having the resilience to address life’s adversities requires a strong understanding that we are here not just for ourselves,

but to be an extension of God’s love. With that knowledge and faith, we can find the strength and creativity

to overcome whatever comes our way. Some of this also comes from important mentors in our life.

Learning from Grandpa

The little girl in the picture enjoys spending time with her Grandpa. He has reached his elder years

and now has the leisure time to spend with her...to give his time to her, for a time.

The time he has left is short. She will, if she is smart, treasure the stories he tells, the stories that he grew up with:

Life’s lessons from Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio, the adventures of Tarzan, Louis L’Amour’s westerns, and Bible stories.

Grandpa introduces her to his world, through his eyes and his imagination. Her time was spent with Grandpa and his, to share with her.

It is this time that prepares her, passes on his Wisdom, gained through the excitement, love, and heartbreak of his own life.

This little girl will use these stories as the scaffold upon which to build her own life and to structure her beliefs, hopes and dreams.

And then she will be ready with the resilience to engage in the adventures of school, friendships, learning to be of service,

be an entrepreneur, a scientist, or a futurist.

She has the whole world in her imagination and a lifetime to have time for her.