FAITH TIMES
“Wasting Time Wisely – And the Threat of Labor Day”

You won’t believe what I did this morning. I must have wasted at least ten minutes. But, it’s summer, and that gives us all some validation for time wasting. You won’t believe what I did. I sat by our nature center’s Koi and goldfish pond and I fed the fish. Some even came close to eating out of my hand. I observed the gold, blue, burgundy, yellow scales of their sleek bodies and the different fin configurations. What a waste of time! There were program brochures to be written, prayers to be created, sermons to get outlined, homebound members to be visited or called, hospitals to be visited, marriage counseling appointments to be scheduled, stewardship campaigns to be designed, outside speakers to contact, etc., etc. And here I was just wasting time.

But it got worse. I walked through my backyard on the way to the garage to pick up a large bag in which I could deposit the trash as I cleaned up my office. Ah, work to be done. But that work got side tracked by one small red rose on a multi-flora rose bush. I stopped and looked at it for probably a full minute. I smelled its aroma several times. I finally came into my right mind and got to the office ready to work.

But, it happened again. I sat down and wasted time with my regular time of prayer. I offered prayers of thanksgiving to God for fish and roses and family and friends. I then wasted more time with intercessory prayer for members of the church who were struggling with physical and emotional illness and for people who were suffering – some I had never met. What can one prayer do? Could it be another waste of time?

This week many schools begin and next weekend we celebrate LABOR day. Wasting time will start to get a bad name again. Even, wasting time WISELY. As people who proclaim that they worship a God who said “Be still and know that I am God” let us not allow the world to threaten our wasting time wisely time.

Wasting time wisely today on the Cape with Gretchen,

Bob Naylor

P.S. Put our Homecoming Weekend on Your Calendars – We’ll waste some time wisely
in fellowship with our faith family.