WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Kurt Young)

A couple of weeks ago in worship I talked about the article I saw on the cover of Newsweek about 20 years ago about how CEO’s were ending up in the hospital with diagnoses of exhaustion simply from working too many hours. They were trying to run their companies, in the pursuit of the almighty dollar, and their value systems were just all upside down compared to Jesus’ Way of life.

Well, I think I was in the 9^th Grade, I was probably about 14 when I started getting so stressed, from being too busy, too over committed that I had to go to the nurse’s office every day at lunch and take a dose of Maalox. My doctor looked at me one day and said: “You know if I have to put you in the hospital one day, then you will slow down.” Ninth Grade? I was 14, for goodness sake. I can imagine that happening to CEO’s but a teenager? What was happening to CEO’s should not have been happening to a teen-ager. I was stressed, from doing too much, and the life of a busy teen-ager for most kids was NOTHING back then, compared to what it is today.

By my Senior Year of High School I had to make a choice the Marching Band and the Church. I was very active in church boards and was chosen to be on a national board of the Methodist Church the General Council on Ministries (GCOM), a big deal for a fourteen year old. I meant I was going to get to travel around the country. But I had to choose. The band had a competition the same week as I had a big meeting. I went to the Band Director for help, that was a BIG MISTAKE. The band director of course said “you’re going to ruin your senior year in high school”. I had an opportunity to serve and learn, build relationships, and see the big picture of the church. I chose the church thing. I would not be here today, and neither would the Village, if I had not made that choice. I would not have come to Ohio, met Kurt and have him and Rebecca & Jamie. I made the right choice for me. It was a crucial choice. I said YES, to one thing, and NO to something else.

At Ginghamsbug United Methodist Church, at a training event, a few years ago, I learned a really important lesson. It may sound a bit more like science than psychology, but the lesson has proven to be one of the most valuable ones of my life, especially when my life is spinning out of control and I feel like I don’t have enough time. Here it is: When we say “yes” to one thing, then we are saying “no” to something else. It’s a simple cause and effect. I challenge you to find a situation where it does not play out.

When I say “yes” to another commitment, I am usually saying “no” to some family time, free time, or sleep. Or when I say “yes” to some work commitment then I am saying “no” to some other project at work, or I am saying “no” to spending adequate time to do something well. Saying “yes” to some things often means I say “no” to sleep, or “no” to self-care. Or by the same token, saying “yes” to sleep, can mean that I say “no” to keeping a commitment I have made. See how it works?

When someone asks me to do something, this thought process helps me, because I think to myself: “What will I be giving up if I say ‘yes’ to this?” Because if the new opportunity is something I am passionate about, and something I believe in, or something that will bring me joy, then of course, I want to say “yes.” And I should say “yes.” But if not, then going through this thought process, of what I will have to trade, sometimes gives me the strength to look the asker in the eye, and say, “no.” “No, I’m not going to be able to help you this time.” And by the way, you don’t have to give an excuse. You are allowed just to say “no” to someone. I admire people who can do that honestly and guilt free. Grown-ups do that all the time. Guilt free! I want to be that way when I grow up. It’s Jesus’ Way! Listen again to what he said.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus wants us to live with joy! Jesus wants us to live “free and lightly.”

Who wants to sign up for this, what if I told you I could give you an extra day every week? How many of you would like any extra day each week? Well guess what? That is God’s desire for us too. It’s right there in that book we say we want to live by, the Bible. Right there in the first section of the book, in Genesis, in the stories of the origin of creation. God created the world in six days and rested on day seven and said, on one day of the week, we are allowed to rest too. It’s called our Sabbath Day. God gave us permission to say “no” on the seventh day of the week so we can rest and play and find our joy. We have an extra day. It is already ours to claim. God has given us the right and the privilege to claim it as children of God. Now the world may not honor that value, but we get to decide, whether we are going to live by the world’s rules, or God’s rules. I, for one, decided a long time to live for God. Now we don’t have to be rigid and claim our Sabbath Day on the same day every week, but God, who created us and who created this whole universe, says, we are all allowed to have a day of rest. One day EVERY WEEK, for rest and renewal, for something that gives us joy and renews our souls.

So, how are we doing with that? If we are not doing so well with Sabbath Days, then how about a Sabbath hour, now and then, or a Sabbath moment, just to stop and smell the roses, or experience joy – in whatever way YOU experience joy? We’ll be talking more about that in some future weeks in worship. Or if you want to see one of our Spiritual Directors, that would be a great way to explore this value of Sabbath.

To take us back to today’s focus of TIME. I talk to lots of people, and one of the recurring themes is this: people tell me they wish they had more time. We say we don’t have enough time. We want more time. Well, friends, we all have the same 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week. We can get stressed and wish we had more time. Or we can take a deep breath, and ask God to help us find a better way to live in the time we do have.

Here is one image that has been helpful for me. Maybe some of you have seen or heard this before but it is worth repeating. Stephen Covey uses this at his time management seminars. Imagine all the things in your life that you want and need to spend time on as rocks, some are big rocks and some are smaller rocks. And they all have to fit into a glass jar.

Work Church Reading

Family Hobbies Volunteer work

Friends yard work Facebook

Sports home care bill paying

Entertainment laundry vacations

At the Covey seminars, they try to fit the things into the jar. . .

You want to put the most important things into the jar first. And then fit the other things around those. Don’t let other people decide for you what is most important. And don’t let things that are not really so important, eat up your time, so that the more important things get pushed out. If you do the most important things first, or put them on your calendar first, and fit everything else around them, then the other stuff will get done, OR it’s really not that important to you.

Now, I know this is easier said than done. Prioritizing is one of my biggest personal challenges in life. I want you to know, that when I speak to you, as your pastor, and your friend, that I am speaking from my heart today. Time management is one of my hardest things. And this is why we need to ask God to help us. And we need to listen to Jesus on this one. When I get really stressed out, I need to remember a day when I was at the end of my rope, stressed out from work, and a wise mentor told me simply: turn off your phone, and go take a nap. Let someone else take care of them today. It’s your day off. “It’s a Jesus thing.”

Jesus said: “Are you tired? Worn out? . . . Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. . . Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. . . . Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30).

Need a place to help learn how to recover, learn the unforced rhythms of grace, join us at the Village. You can say Yes to joining a community where taking care of you, while working to change the world. We’re at the corner of Central & Monroe Street in Toledo Sundays @ 9:45 AM and 11:30 AM and around various times during the week. Come join us.