Time is Love

     This song seriously stopped me in my tracks recently. Not only is it incredibly sweet from a romantic perspective, it was a well-deserved kick in the pants for me.  At some point, probably beginning after high school, time becomes such a treasured commodity. There are never enough hours to accomplish all the things you need or want to do. And in our rush to stay on top of things, spending time with others normally gets the short end of the stick. It seems to way too overwhelming to try to schedule lunch with friends, a ‘just popping in’ visit with your sister, and that double date you’ve been trying to go on for the past 3 months? It’ll never work. We like each other’s facebook statuses and comment on their new pictures, but you haven’t seen them in person since March. When you do see them, it is in passing, with the promise of “I’ll call you” or “We really need to catch up!” I am so, so, so very guilty.

 

     I’ll state the obvious..it can be a ton of work just to hang out with friends. It can mean 10 emails back and forth and you still can’t nail down a evening for coffee or making plans on the only free evening you had that week. Catching dinner with someone you have not seen in two long may cost you some unchecked items on your to-do list. Even just calling a friend who lives on the other side of the country requires you find a free 30 minutes or so.  Free time is a rare commodity in a society that urges us to stay as busy as possible, to take on as many jobs, projects and ministries as possible. And our relationships truly suffer because of it.

 

     I’m realizing more and more that the time that counts is the time spent with others. It is worth so much more than a to-do list checked off, some free hours to yourself. It’s worth that gas money and the overpriced sandwich. Giving our time is truly the most valuable, effective, and complete way we can love. It asks that we give of ourselves. I’m also realizing how much more time I owe to the author of time, Himself. He gave it to me as a gift. I need to return it. He’ll know I love him by the way I spend it.

 

     If I recall correctly from my I’m-your-typical-Catholic-and-don’t-know-the-bible-like-I-should mind, those were the two greatest commandments. Loving God and loving our neighbors.  And what better way to do it than with the gift of your time.