Life’s little moments are fleeting! We need only blink and another day passes. Where does the time go?
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
-Ephesians 5:15-16
When I think about time, I simultaneously think about its value. We each have so little, yet we tend to waste so much!
You have probably heard it said that “time is money”, but if you think about it, time is a far more precious resource than money could ever be. I have recently been learning to appreciate its great value even more. We are each given the same number of hours to steward every day. We can never get more time on this earth than the Lord has allotted to us. In Job 7:1, we read, “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of an hireling?”
If we are Christians, then our time is not our own. Our time is the Lord’s; we are mere stewards of that time.
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is an excellent read. It shows us that there are indeed consequences for mismanaging the resources that we have been given. How will we use those precious seconds, minutes, and hours that seem to just slip though our fingers? Will we redeem them? Redeeming the time not only entails being productive, but also being obedient and Christlike.
“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
-Colossians 4:5
Just because we may be doing something fun or enjoyable (i.e. not working or studying, etc.) does not mean that we cannot be redeeming the time simultaneously! We have the opportunity to redeem each and every second by shining the love and light of the Lord in our words and actions. We will never be able to do it perfectly this side of heaven, but we need to do our best for the One who has given us life.
Each new day is a gift with immeasurable value. We have the opportunity to do great things for God. Today, these great things may mainly consist of serving others in daily home life, but what God requires of us is a humble heart and willing hands, ready to do His bidding. He requires us to be like Christ.
Though I am still rather young, it seems like only yesterday that I was just a child. I have noticed that the days slip by even more quickly as I get older. There are things I wish to remember that I have forgotten as the days run together. Looking back, I wish that I had kept a journal and recorded thoughts, struggles, special moments, lessons learned, and the like. Thankfully, it’s not too late to begin doing so. There’s no time like the present, right?
In recent years, I have developed a love for photography. I have found that am able to be more consistent in chronicling memories when I need only click my shutter button. In less than the time it takes to journal one event, I am able to able to capture an entire day’s worth of family memories with my camera.
I have also been discovering the priceless value of pulling out my camera on any given day to record fleeting moments. Taking pictures of a family vacation is a great thing to do, but photographing the little every-day-moments is just as wonderful. I love being able to look back at my pictures from quiet days at home, remembering what we were doing that day, the dinner we were creating in the kitchen, and whatever else was going on in our lives at the time. These simple photos are some of my favorites.
The seemingly insignificant events will be the ones I will most want to remember later on. Baking pies with my family in the fall, learning to cook in the kitchen with little ones, singing unto the Lord together, learning life’s lessons with those I love, and teaching my children (should the Lord so bless me), are a few examples of this. Children grow and change so quickly, and many life’s precious moments only happen once!
If you are interested in learning how to take better pictures of your family, you might be interested in reading my new ebook, A Beginner’s Guide to Portrait Photography. I wrote it specifically for the beginning photographer.
The ebook speaks to a wide range of topics, such as posing your subjects, shooting in manual mode, getting perfect expressions, photographing children, shooting in various types of lighting, pleasing picture composition, and much more!
I am offering it at a reduced rate of $6 until the end of March (just a few more days)! Click here to visit the website to learn more, click here to read the foreword written by Emily Rose Brookshire, or click here to purchase a copy of the ebook.
