On the day after Christmas, many of us may have received gift cards to our favorite restaurant or coffee shop so that the Christmas glow continues. But what if someone had instead given us a gift card for Time?

Brother Geoffrey Tristram, the Superior of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Boston writes: “Now, there is another gift from God, given in creation, which is equally fundamental to our well-being as our relationship with the Earth. This gift, too, has been abused and polluted, although the destructive effects of this abuse may be less immediate for us to discern. This is the gift of Time.”

I’ve been single since 2008 and without any family, I am in a unique position to solely determine how I spend my time. I’ve learned that I can be very intentional about my time, planning every minute of each day, or I can be more relaxed and let time unfold before me. However, through prayer I’ve discerned that neither approach is ideal. It’s important to first pray in a quiet time so God can speak to me, and then become as “busy” as he needs me to be in doing His work. I realize that in the past I’ve used up my time on the wrong things or the wrong people.

I asked a friend to go with me for a few days in silent retreat and then to attend a workshop on the Holiness of Time that Brother Tristram will be teaching in Boston on January 17. I was surprised when she responded that she wasn’t in a position to give up a few days of her life to be “quiet”. She had too many things to get accomplished to stop for two days of prayer.

Time is the great equalizer. There are people who have more money, more things, more family and better relationships than I do, but we all have the exact same amount of time: 24 hours in every day.

How I choose to spend it determines the holiness of my relationship with God and with others.

I pray that in 2015, you are able to sit in quiet silence to wait for God’s guidance on where you are to spend your time, and where you are not.

Here’s a link to Brother Tristram’s discussion on “Time: Redeeming the Gift.”

http://ssje.org/ssje/2014/09/01/time-redeeming-the-gift-br-geoffrey-tristram/

Blessings, my friend
Agatha