Jesusluvsall's Blog

As Gandalf talked with Frodo in the mountain, he shared this advice with the young hobbit who was despairing the situation they were in, and even though it is from a book/movie, such advice is so valuable for us, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

This picture is from a flower clock that I saw when I visited Geneva Switzerland in June 2004. Clocks are reminders that time continues to tick away. When I was young, I felt like I had all kinds of time. Now that I have more yesterdays than I will have tomorrows in this world, I realize how short the time we are given actually is.

I have been given time to live in this life at this specific time in human history. I do not want to waste my time wondering why I am living now as opposed to some other time in history. My time in this life has been appointed to me now. I have been given time to live out what was written in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His craftsmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Each day I try to remind myself not to waste a day. I have today and that is all that is certain. My desire is to make each day count. As a teacher, it means looking for opportunities to encourage my students and instill a sense of hope for the future as they try to learn English. By doing so I can show them the love of Christ.

As a servant of Jesus, it means taking time to pray, sending that message of encouragement, sharing God’s love with others, and being ready to share about the eternal hope we can have in Jesus. More and more for me it means valuing the little things as well as the big things.

Opportunities are not found only on a ministry trip to another country, they are waiting for us each day as we go about our daily lives. We never know where, when, or how the small things for us can lead to something much bigger.

Last December I had a new Yazidi student start my class. She had only arrived in America a few weeks before she came to my class. I had learned how to greet my Yazidi students in their language. I greeted her with choyneh havalemah, phonetic spelling, which means hello my friend. It was a small thing to me but a huge thing for her to have a teacher say hello my friend in her language after what the Yazidis have been through. It opened the door to a wonderful friendship with her and her husband and yes I have had opportunities to share Jesus with them.

But even if it is only a small thing that does not seem to lead much, I try to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat……….. I tell you whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for Me.” As I try to show His love, Jesus considers it as being done to Him. That alone should be sufficient motivation to make each day count by showing the love of God to others whether in little ways or big ways.