Time Well Spent

My husband, Donald, and I went on a breakfast date the other day.  We have a special, out of the way place that we like to visit often. As we sat across from each other over a table of pancakes, bacon, and fried eggs, we reminisced about what our “dates” used to look like not that long ago...

Back when we only had two little ones, Donald and I used to work opposite shifts.  Even with our crazy schedules, we still had to utilize daycare.  Did I mention that our two oldest daughters are only 15 months apart? Well, they are.  That meant we had two babies in diapers at once. On top of that, one was on very expensive, super-special formula.  (One would have thought that each can was painstakingly crafted by hand by some sort of powdered formula artisans and packaged in a 14 carat gold canister, but I digress.)

Anyhow, we had no extra money at the time.  Like zilch.  That meant there were no movie dates or fancy dinners out.  Plus, since we worked opposite shifts, we really couldn’t take advantage the free babysitters we had. (Shout out to all the grandparents and Auntie Jill!)

Donald and I reached the point where we needed some way to have a “date” without leaving the house and without spending extra money.  That’s when I had the idea to start renting movies from the library.  It was free, I could request whatever we wanted to watch, and we could watch it at any time.  Plus, did I mention it was free?!? That’s when we also discovered that Aldi has some tasty (and inexpensive) snacks!  So for our “date nights” we would watch a movie and eat our special snack.  It wasn’t super fancy but it was exactly what we both needed at the time. 

Looking back I treasure those at-home “date nights”.  I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  Those evenings brought us time together as a couple to reconnect, have some laughs, all while we snuggled up on the couch.

Now we find ourselves in yet another season.  The season of all three kids in school all day.  The season of me staying home and Donald having a day off during the week that we can use to catch a matinee movie or enjoy breakfast out. And it’s amazing.  I like to think that we are even closer now and stronger as a couple for having endured that season of our marriage back then. Investing in your marriage in the here and now will always pay off as the years go by. 

And I like to think that’s how it is with our relationship with the Lord as well.  There will always be different seasons.  Seasons when you can dig down deep into His Word with no regard to time and seasons when maybe all you can read is but 5 minutes before the baby starts to cry.  Times when you are experiencing incredible closeness and times when you wonder if He is near (which, He so very much is, by the way). Seasons when you are on the mountaintop, praising Him and seasons when you are in the valley, crying out in prayer.

But can I tell you, it is so worth it to keep that relationship going.  It is so worth it to adjust and figure out a new way to spend time with the Lord when what you are used to gets mixed up. Maybe that means hanging out in your car just to get a moment alone and singing along to some worship music.  Maybe that means shifting your prayer time from the wee hours of the morning to the end of the day.  It could even mean putting down your phone (eek!) and picking up your Bible. Because the thing is, the closer you draw near to God, the closer He will draw near to you.  Your relationship with Him will grow deeper and stronger. And I promise you, just like a date with your sweetheart, it will never be time that is wasted but time well spent.

“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.” Proverbs 8:17 (NLT)

Post by: Marcy Gates