Scripture: Colossians 4:5
Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.
Thought for the Day: One of the things I have been reflecting on during this Season of Advent is time. We all make comments like, “There is never enough time” or “I wish there were eight days this week”. This thinking, at least in my experience, usually is found around the holidays when we are feeling pulled a dozen different directions. This thought seemed to hit me a bit harder after I came across a little flier that read, “Give More Of Yourself This Season.” Most people would react as I did by saying, “There ain’t more of me to give!” But with some intentional reflection on this idea of time, I’ve realized that giving more of myself doesn’t necessarily correlate with length of time. How often have we set aside an evening with some friends, only to be distracted the entire evening by some project that remained unfinished. We were physically in the same room with our friends, but we were not present to them. During this Season of Advent, I have tried (not always successfully) to be more intently present to people, even if it is just for a few moments. I’ve paused, faced the individual fully, put my phone in my pocket, tried to ignore the anxiety I’m feeling about the unfinished project on my desk, and drawn upon my best active listening skills. On a number of occasions, there has been this unexpected contentment and peace. There appears to be more of me when I do this, maybe not in chronological time, but in what the Bible calls Kairos time. In the Bible we have Chronos, which refers to a sequence of moments. Kairos is the moment between moments that is full and rich and amazing. Some have called it a God-moment, those occasions when the world feels as if it hesitates just long enough for a window to appear.
Prayer: Work with me, Giver of Grace, amidst all the insecurities and anxieties that keep me from being more present to you in those moments between moments, those empty pauses between the tick and the tock of the second hand. Let me be aware of you in the people I would otherwise dismiss on my way to what I have deemed important. There is holiness all around me, and in those Kairos moments, I am able to experience life more fully. Amen.
And This Sunday Evening…
