How busy we are changes over the stages of life. A teenager thinks that life simply cannot get any busier than it is right now. But ask a couple with a young family about busyness, or parents of those teenagers, and they’ll have something to say about how hectic life can be. Some of us just seem to run out of day before we run out of things to do. Others, however, seem to have too much time on their hands. They wait with little to do, watching the hands of the clock slowly go around the dial.
Whatever our level of busyness, we all make daily choices about how we’ll spend our time. Too often, the enemy of the good is the good. We have so many options, so many good things to do that too many of the essential things are left undone. How do we put first things first? How can we determine what matters most?
Just as we try to nurture our physical and mental health, we need time for spiritual development, time to be holy. We enlarge our souls as we deeply ponder what the Creator wants our lives to become, who He wants us to be. We expand our love for others and gain an understanding of what life is about as we turn to heaven in sincere prayer. We learn about God and about ourselves as His children as we read the scriptures. Heavenly things make earthly difficulties and trials bearable as they deepen joys and provide comfort and understanding. Turning our hearts to holiness is time well spent, time that can enhance our physical and mental health, our marriage and family relationships, and our overall sense of well-being.
Just as life is not meant to be all fun and games, life is also not meant to be all prayer and meditation. We are to live—to interact, to work, to play and laugh, to go forward in the whole range of life’s worthwhile endeavors. But time for holiness is not a distraction from life’s purposes—it is life, one of the vital reasons we are here: to draw closer to God.
Program #3898