Often times in life we will be scheduled to do one activity and then perhaps to take on another project later in the same day. Between the two activities we may have anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours of "downtime." I think in learning to use this time, which is so easy to waste, in something meaningful we can capture some moments in our day that could have otherwise have been lost or prodigalized away.
One time I have like this each week is the time between the morning and evening worship services on Sunday. After lunch, I often feel like I have to wait several hours to go back to services in the evening. Since I live too far to travel home to Alamo during this time, I often just have to look to fill the time with activity. During this wait, it is tempting to surf the Internet, nap or watch TV just to have something to do in Dresden. If instead of pursuing meaningless activity I can dedicate my afternoon to some good thing, I feel much better. Looking over the night's lesson, reading the Bible or visiting folks from church are things that give the afternoon meaning and I can redeem time that otherwise would have been lost.
Another example of redeemable time is when one is taking a long drive. I drive to Memphis each Monday to an appointment and I love spending this time thinking about the week ahead, sometimes listening to my audio Bible or even just relaxing with the radio. The secret to redeeming the hours in between big events is to live with purpose. As we live more purposefully we gain a better perspective on life. By learning not to let precious time slip by unused, we are in essence expanding the amount of time that we have each day. May God help us to be good stewards of our time.
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