What is Most Important to You?

Eric and I were visiting a church of our friends' (miss you Stephen and Mary K!) a while back and the pastor issued a challenge that has stuck with me.  He said something along these lines,

"I want you to think about what the most important thing in your life is. Something that you spend a lot of time doing or thinking about doing.  Look at your pocketbook and your calendar and that will probably give you a good answer.  I challenge you to ask a person close to you what they think is most important to you right now."

So naturally, I wondered what Eric would say was the most important thing in my life right now.  So I asked him. (This is always a little scary to do for obvious reasons.....I tend to get a little defensive.)  But, I already knew what I would say about myself, I just wanted to know if it was that obvious to others.  It was. 

My time.

My life absolutely revolves around my quiet times.  I live for them.  Ain't nobody gonna mess with my nap time or my time after the kids go to bed.  I loathe phone calls, interruptions, chores, tasks, basically anything that takes away from time to do what I want to do. 

So, notice I keep saying "MY  time."  That's exactly how I view it.  But, what if I started to view it as God's time?  What might I accomplish in the amount of time I have?  Because it really does amount to quite a bit if I add it up.

I would love someday for someone to say that the most important thing to me is "others."  But, I know I'm not there or even close to being there.

In a recent sermon in our church, Mother Teresa was quoted as saying,

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

This may be one of my favorite quotes.  There's just such a rich truth in it.  I am at the place right now where it hurts to love.  It hurts because I have to give up some of my time to love.  My weekends, my nap times, my evenings. 

You'd probably have to put me in the crazy house if I didn't get some time to myself, but this challenge made me realize how much value I place on that time.  Too much.


Yesterday in my devotions I read this verse and it spoke to me like never before,

"A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

So how will people know I'm a disciple of Christ?  The verse doesn't say:

By how much money I give....

By selling all my possessions and giving them to the poor...

By how many people I share the gospel with...

By all the church activities I get involved in...

As the familiar song goes, "they'll know we are Christians by our love."  All these things listed above can manifest themselves in love, but we really need to begin with loving.  And for me that begins with giving up some "me time" and turning it into "others time."  And it's gonna hurt.  But, what a wasted life, to be defined as someone who values time to herself. 

I want to be defined by loving others.