What did you do with the time?

It was years ago when I was asked that question. I had been explaining to someone how in travelling home from the University of Toronto, I would decide on which subway station to leave from, depending on the time of the buses leaving from the depot at the other end. IF the time permitted I would walk the few blocks to the subway station on the line heading north. But if not, I would take the eastbound subway over to the northbound station. Being just a couple of minutes late could mean anywhere from a 30 minute to an hour’s wait for a bus at the  other end depending on the time of day and as both a student and a mother, I resented time spent waiting in the waiting area or on the platform. Answering the question wasn’t difficult either. The time saved was used listening to stories about school events, getting the evening meal on the table, and all the other myriad activities that fill any mother’s day.

However that question has stayed with me in varying forms over the last 30+ years. 

Whenever I saved some time, I asked myself “What did I do with that time?”

Whenever I saved money, “What did I do with the money I saved?”

And those have proved to be very interesting questions indeed, with very interesting and varied responses - all of which have told me over the years what was really important to me.

This afternoon for example, I was suppose to be going out to lunch with a friend. She had to change the day at the last minute and I was left with a 'free' afternoon [time saved, if you like]. So with the time given, I decided to write this blog instead of sitting out on the patio [another possible activity!] For me, today, writing was what I needed to do.

I think we all tend to manage our time rather well, filling up any holes that appear with necessary or worthwhile activities. But do we do as well with our money? When we go to Costco for gas, do we keep a record of the pennies saved and then do something specific with them? Or when we ‘save’ money by not going to church on a Sunday [because we use weekly envelopes instead of the pre-authorized giving program] do we make sure the money saved goes towards helping out a local food bank.

Sometimes we feel that we doing all that we can, that we are stretched to the limit. But in every week we have those gifts of unexpected free time [with which to call someone we know who would just like to hear a friendly voice on the other end of the phone] or ‘found’ money saved on a purchase at the store or the gas bar [which we can use to help the homeless person on the street corner or to buy a flowering plant to bring some sunshine into the life of the shut-in down the street]. 

There is always something more that we can do: send a card, rake a lawn, or just ‘be there’ for someone else. We just have to ask ourselves that question “What did I do with the time or the money I saved this week? Each time we save either is an opportunity to do a little extra toward living out the calling of our Christian faith.