During the rush that December usually brings, I found myself facing emotional turmoil at home, at church, and at my workplace. In the midst of it all, my morning devotional time with the Lord became my Rock, and I realized my time was a precious commodity not to be squandered.
Time is a precious gift, I now believe with all my heart.
It's far too precious to give away to TV shows or endless hours of scrolling through Facebook and Instagram.
Recently, I awoke from a sound sleep feeling extremely sad.
My life had become so busy with work, Christmas preparations, church responsibilities and personal goals that my quiet devotional time with the Lord had gotten rushed or crossed off my to-do list altogether.
Once I recognized this was the reason for my sadness, I made a point to fix it the following day.
But, I realized fixing this would come at a great price: the costly price of sleep, that is.
Fact #1: I needed to get up earlier.
Time to Get Up
I found that if I woke up a little earlier each day, my morning devotional routine was not rushed, and my daily dose of Scripture made its way back into my spirit.
Ahhhhhh....
Plus, it allowed my husband and I to read our Bibles and pray together.
Once I set my heart to doing this, my internal clock started waking me up on time.
I often imagined the angel of the Lord standing at my bedside, "Time to get up Angie, the Lord is waiting to meet with you.”
God in his foreknowledge knew what I would be facing in this month of December and He was prompting me to get up, and store up, a deposit of faith that would help me through the days ahead.
For which I am SO very thankful!
The First Crisis
My employer owns two completely different businesses within our city, and I am the bookkeeper for both businesses.
However, at the end of November, the employee from his 2nd business was fired unexpectedly, so my boss wanted me to run and operate both offices at both businesses until he found a replacement for the 2nd office.
Gee, Boss, thanks for doing this during the month of December, it's like literally the busiest month of the year!
My work hours went from 20 to 55 hours a week as I sought to learn the operations of the 2nd office while still managing the 1st office.
The Second Crisis
While I was learning to juggle the responsibilities of two offices we tragically lost two of our church members to COVID- 19 complications.
Since my husband, who is the pastor, and has a compromised immune system, he couldn’t minister to the families in the hospital like he wished, so I went on his behalf.
It was tough to do after a long day's work at two offices, but it was a love offering of my time.
The Lord, in His foreknowledge, knew I would need to draw upon the deposit of faith within my heart to minister to these families.
I was beginning to understand the importance of getting up earlier.
The Third Crisis
Right before Christmas, my husband was admitted into the hospital for high blood pressure.
This put extra strain on our family due to the holidays, and once again I had to look to my Heavenly Father for grace and strength.
After a long day's work, I drove an hour and a half to the hospital there and back for three days straight to see my husband. Then we were so pleased to bring him home the day before Christmas Eve.
The Fourth Crisis
The last week of December brought a different kind of challenge: a challenge of personal choice.
My employer and his wife had found a viable person whom they could hire to work in the 2nd office, and they wanted me to meet her.
Since I would be training her, I needed to approve of her, too.
As she walked through the door, I recognized her immediately.
We met each other briefly years ago, and it was not a pleasant encounter.
After our family moved to WNY in 2017, I was searching for a job, and I met this woman while I waiting for an interview at a law firm.
She was warm and friendly with a mix of oddity.
Nearly a year would go by before our paths crossed again.
In the meantime, I worked at another law firm’s office, which is a whole story in itself, but in short, it was the most difficult work situation I have ever faced.
I eventually got fired due to a jealous paralegal who lied about me, and a boss who despised me for accidentally uncovering the fact that their law office wasn't following corporate policies.
Feeling low as low could get, I returned to the previous law office I had visited a year before. Hoping I could find employment.
When I told the receptionist, (the same woman I was now meeting in the interview) about my misfortune, she laughed at me.
She laughed.
Her cruel behavior was so hurtful during one of the most difficult moments of my life, and this is what I remembered upon seeing her again.
How Will I Handle Crisis Number Four?
Before I gave my approval to hire this woman, I went to the Lord to seek His counsel on what to do and how to handle it.
He prompted me to speak to my husband about it, and my husband had some wise words for me.
He said, that I shouldn’t base my decision upon this woman’s actions from a few years ago.
Then he shared this portion of Scripture from Romans 12:17-21 to meditate on:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “it is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.
My Gift of Time to Receive Counsel
What was I going to say and do about this woman?
The words from my husband's sweet Christmas message came back to me:
“He is our Wonderful Counselor and knows what we need and what we should do in every circumstance.”
Then my husband had said, “We need to go to the Lord early and often.”
Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called, wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.
After meditating upon my husband's Christmas message and the portion of Scripture from Romans, I came to my conclusion: to show mercy.
So, I gave my approval to hire this woman to work at the 2nd office.
And I had peace.
Seeking the Lord's counsel was a good use of my time.
* Listen to my husband's Christmas message HERE
Time is a Precious Gift
This is how I want to spend all of my days --Seeking the counsel of the Lord early and often.
Psalm 73:24 (KJV)
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
May our Wonderful Counselor guide our every step in this new year as we take the time to seek Him early and often!
Yes, our time is precious -- especially when we don't have a lot of it to spare!
The Lord knows just what we need and what we should do in EVERY circumstance and there’s no better way to get direction for our life than by reading the word of God.
Psalm 119:105 (KJV)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Take the time to allow the precious Word of God to light your way in this dark world!
©My Sun & Shade Ministries
