The Precious Gift of Time

Today randomly I was cruising through Facebook and some how I came across a story of a woman who had been through incredible, difficult trials. Her parents got divorced while she was young, then she suffered long term sexual abuse from another family member, was raped as a teenager by a stranger, battled cervical cancer before she was out of her teens, grew more and more over weight with each of her pregnancies, got married and then divorced, and lost a daughter. My heart broke for her. Now she is doing amazing things working to empower other women. And all I could think of is, "What am I doing here, wasting my time on Facebook, when there is so much hurt in the world and so much healing needed. How can I waste any precious minute of my easy life, not helping others?"

Too often I look back on my day and wonder what in the world did I do all day? How did I just let 24 whole hours disappear? These thought of how I use my time make me reflect on the Savior and His use of time. The scripture that came to mind was this one:

2 Nephi 26:24
     "He (the Savior) doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation."

How I love that verse! How clearly it shows to me that Christ lived a poured out life, 100%. Everything he did (and does) was for the "benefit of the world." Because he loves us that much. If I am to follow in His footsteps as my heart truly desires, I must look at my use of time and ask myself "Is what I'm doing for the benefit of His children?"

This doesn't mean I will no longer exercise or take time to get dressed in the morning. Christ too took his alone time and time to rejuvenate and be close to His Father. (Mark 6:47, Luke 9:18, Matt 4:1). Taking time to be with God and to take care of myself can help me better serve others as Christ did.

I love this invitation that was given in conference by my former mission president, Elder Ian S. Ardern:
    "I invite us to identify the time-wasting distractions in our lives that may need to be figuratively ground into dust. We will need to be wise in our judgment to ensure that the scales of time are correctly balanced to include the Lord, family, work, and wholesome recreational activities. As many have already discovered, there is an increase of happiness in life as we use our time to seek after those things which are “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” (Articles of Faith 1:13)."
LInk to talk HERE.

 There are so many out there who need help. I have been given so many incredible blessings in my life, I must put aside my selfish, self-centered waste of time and focus on using my time as the Savior did: for the benefit of the world. I want to "grind into dust" those distractions that take me away from what matters most and from thinking and loving and serving others. I want to be a more careful steward of the precious gift of time I've been given.

Questions to think about:

• What are some specific ways the Savior spent His time that we can emulate?
• What are some of our own personal time-wasting distractions we can "grind into dust?"