Time Well Spent Is Time Invested

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. —Daniel 6:10, NKJV

My daughter Karin Elyse invited me to join her holiday cookie-decorating class two months before she and her husband planned to celebrate the first birthday, first Thanksgiving, and first Christmas of their daughter, Kalia Vivian. Karin is an expert baker and cake decorator, always refining her skills and adding new ones. Yet I wondered, Why another class when her days are already filled to overflowing? That is when I was reminded that things are not always as they appear. This gift of mother-daughter togetherness caught us laughing hilariously when Rudolph’s nose would not stay in place. Time stood still as my daughter helped me, her former teacher, to perfect my handwriting using a frosting pen. Daylight gave way to night as I watched my daughter’s gentle hands decorate Thanksgiving treats with her daughter’s name laced delicately in three-dimensional artistic frosting. Now, two years later, as I reflect on those shared hours, my mind wanders to the time I spend with my heavenly Father.

My day usually starts before I open my eyes.

Amazement is my morning-joy moment—a time when I spend just a few minutes experiencing an awareness of awakening. These few moments are like precious drops of rain on parched ground. Just enough water to awaken the soil and nourish the seed within, not overwhelming but enlivening. Like time spent with my daughter, those waking moments cause time to stand still as I marvel at God’s gifts of breath, sight, movement, and sensation of heart and lungs in their synchronized tune of thanksgiving within their perfectly crafted cage of protective bones. Good morning, Lord, is my greeting. A simple greeting of gratitude for life. Thanks for taking the time to visit with me and remind me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image. Sinful though I may be, our time together this morning will reveal Your perfect will, grace, mercy, and love! My friend, with Jesus as our example, let us invest time with God and be blessed today.

Prudence Pollard