Lost and Found Time

When Nate was in elementary school, he lost a jacket so I stopped in the school office to go through the lost and found. They pointed me to a large cardboard box that sat in the corner of the back room. A REALLY BIG cardboard box. It was a little bit like dumpster diving. I found many jackets that smelled like active boys and girls, but not the one I was looking for.

I moved aside a Spiderman lunchbox and a basketball. I shook a Beauty and the Beast thermos and hoped it didn't contain week-old spoiled chunky milk.

I tossed aside hats and school binders, until finally I found Nate's blue hoodie.

I wish I could find Lost Time as easily.

The forty-five minutes I waited at the doctor's office.

The thirty seconds I spent behind each red light on the way to work.

The ten minutes in the check out lane.

The half hour wait each week for Zach's saxophone lessons.

We live in a culture that doesn't like to waste time. We view waiting as lost time and do everything to avoid it, filling the space with multi-tasking, impatience, and snapping at those who slow us down.

What if

instead of LOSING TIME

we FOUND it?

Found Time.

A flip-it-upside-down way of looking at it.

All those minutes when we are forced to wait due to circumstances beyond our control. What if we found time, instead of lost it?Found time to pray. Reflect. Sit in silence.

Found time to read a magazine. Or a book.

Found time to talk to a friend. Or a spouse. Or a child.

Found time to listen to God.

For the next 48 hours I am stranded in a hotel in Minnesota waiting for a flight to take me back home. 700 flights were cancelled yesterday due to 17 inches of snow and I have Found Time.

I've decided it's an adventure.

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12