Our Most Limited Resource

Darline and I recently returned from a week of vacation. On our way home I was reflecting back over the week and was thinking about how much we managed to pack into those seven days. One thing I am always aware of when we’re on vacation is that time is our most limited resource. We try to plan our activities so that we make maximum use of every morning, afternoon, and evening and try not to waste a single minute.

What I started thinking about on the plane as we flew home was, why don’t I have the same philosophy of time management when I’m home and not on vacation? Really, time is always precious whether you’re on vacation or not. Waste any day and you never get it back. I wonder how much more I could accomplish in life if I planned my daily life with the same intensity as I plan my vacation?

I guess I just assume that I’ll always have another day, week, month, or year. The reality is that I only have a limited number of mornings, afternoons, and evenings. All our days are numbered, not just the ones spent on vacation. One of these days I will have no more days. Knowing that should impact how I spend my time. I wouldn’t think of wasting an evening of vacation sitting in the hotel room watching TV. I wonder how many evenings at home I would spend watching TV if I knew how many more I really had left ?

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning ...” Admittedly, this isn’t a real cheery thought, however, it is a realistic one. There is an urgency to life that we seldom sense. Don’t be fooled by the assumed promise of another tomorrow. Whatever it is you need to do, get it done.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12