Available

I have found that I have been a worshiper of my time. It has always been very precious to me and at times was put in front of other things that are also precious to me. My personal time has been a necessity and an idol that has hindered many chances to be used by the Lord. I am here to tell you how the Lord is killing that idol and how it happened in the craziest week that I have been here so far.

Being busy isn't always bad...

My week was normal when it came to classes and evening activities but it was during the "extra time" that I found myself being pulled and pushed in different directions than usual. For the month that I have been here, I have noticed a lack of fellowship with other believers and had been asking the Lord to show me women and men that I could grow with. Within this one hectic week the Lord has blessed me with a young lady to read through Romans with, two wonderful coffee dates sharing testimonies and laughs, and random conversations throughout the week with strangers and classmates about how loving God is. Now although I am an extrovert (like I could talk to a brick wall, people) I have always had trouble with thinking of the next event of the day or wondering when it is that I will be back in my room during conversations with others. I have found that for far too long I have valued my personal time over time loving on others. So throughout the week of random plans and outings I just couldn't shake the idea of the Lord saying to me to keep going, always saying yes to the different invitations I got even though my flesh kept telling me, "Annie what about 'you' time?". So I went to them all, always by the end seeing why He was urging me to go. Either I got to serve another person, was encouraged by a story, or would even be able to tell them about the character of the Father. I began seeing that being busy didn't have to be a bad thing like I have always believed.

Christlike Sacrifice of Time

This week has been emotionally nuts as well. Not only has it been emotional for me it has been a rather tough week in the life of my friends here in Ireland. Hardships going on through many of their lives has them looking for comfort from others and the beautiful thing about being a believer is that when people come to you for comfort they are actually going to the Lord as well. If it was me on my own, no one would ever come to me for help (Annie knows diddly squat about how to deal with crying women) but the Holy Spirit is our counsellor, meaning that I now have the capabilities to help those in distress. I read this week of what Christlike sacrifice of time should look like...

1.) I must voluntarily give my time. Jesus' life was not taken from Him, but rather given freely. This means if I am to serve Him well it is going to be my choice to serve and love others and it's not going to be easy.

2.) It's going to cost. Rick Warren states, "We may be asked to give up our dreams, our expectations, our reputations, our retirements---whatever God asks of us in order to enrich others." His dreams will become my dreams.

3.) It's going to be a lifestyle. I cannot give of my time when it is convenient or easy. It's going to be late nights, early mornings, and anytime in between to show those the unconditional love shown to us through Christ.

The Author of Time

Seeing as I serve the guy that literally created time (kind of makes my brain hurt) I think that I will have time to do the trivial tasks of this world. The homework, the chores, the whatever...what I have realized this week is that people are so much more important than me wanting a nap or watching a movie on my own. The Lord calls us to love Him and to love others, so when I am confident that I am giving my time to Him first and then to those that need His love (*cough cough* everyone!) then and only then can I lay down at night and have peace in my heart that I did everything that I possibly could to glorify Him that day. Then I wake up, and do it again. My challenge to you is this: be available today, even if your schedule says that you are not.