Nana, What Do You Do All Day?

After spending 4 hours at the beach with my grandchildren, Alexa asked, "Nana, what do you do all day?" Of course I chuckled. These children are a high priority for my time. In fact, they are a major reason Ed and I decided to move to Florida just over a year ago. We wanted to be an integral part of their lives and living 8 hours away made that difficult. Like an increasing number of people today, we feel the need to be close to family. I remember studying in sociology classes about nuclear and extended families. While I grew up next door to my grandparents, our children never lived closer than a 5 hour drive to either of theirs. That seemed to be normal in the 80's and 90's. However, with the current state of social unrest in our country, I feel it's important to be close.

It is a well-known fact that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I have never wanted to look back with regret for not being a good steward of the time I've been blessed with. There are more "things" begging our attention than ever before. Many can be beneficial. But there is a limit to how many words I can read, how many causes I can support, and how much energy I can expend. So how do we know where to draw the line?

Being semi-retired, I work for myself and get to choose how much time I spend in this endeavor. As a result, I'm always aware of people that I may be able to help in some manner or another. With 38 years of nursing under my belt, it's pretty obvious that I like to help people. Being a force to improve any aspect of a person's life, great or small, gives me tremendous satisfaction. Network marketing fits quite well with who I am and what I consider my purpose. It allows me to be independent, flexible, challenged, and rewarded in tangible and intangible ways. So whether I am helping someone explore a new career path or the benefits of one service over another, I like the feeling that I can make a difference to someone everyday.

Staying informed about local and world events is also important to me. This takes time and discernment. With all the media bombardment these days, it's easy to get overwhelmed. However, I feel a sense of responsibility for understanding and acting on events in my sphere of influence. While I learned a long time ago that I cannot achieve world peace, I can be a voice for reason. It's easy to get swept up in the sensations of news stories. However, all stories are told from someone's point of view and often with a motive. So it takes time to evaluate such information and decide what is important and what is irrelevant, as well as what is true and what is not. So yes, I consider myself an activist. I attend conference calls on National Security. I read news stories. I attend local political meetings and I participate in rallies that I feel passionate about.

Friendships are also really important to me. I am intentional with fostering these relationships. Lunch dates, evenings out, telephone conversations, and even responding to my friends' Facebook posts are important to me. Just last week we bought season tickets to the local symphony to share this time with our friends. And whenever a friend phones me to talk or to schedule a visit, I drop everything unimportant to accommodate their request. Friends and family remain my top priority. When I was 7 years old I learned that we never know when we see someone that it could be the last time.

While these are all important ways to spend my time and my life, there remains yet "a better way." Of course I am referring to time spent in relationship with God, Who nourishes my spirit like none other. The time I spend reading His Word and communing with Him in prayer equip me to make better decisions about everything and especially about prioritizing my time. Since I became convicted about the Holiness of Sabbath, my day of worship has posed a bigger challenge. In the United States Sunday is considered the day of rest for Christians as well as most non-Christians. However, the Bible plainly states that God considers the seventh day of the week, the one westerners all Saturday, to be His Sabbath. "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates." Exodus 20:10 NKJV So that settles it for me. Most of my family has come into agreement as well.

I thank my granddaughter for asking me what I do all day! It certainly made me take stock of my time to see where I am doing a good job and areas that need to be improved. Just as I must be a good steward of my money, I also must be an equally good steward of my time.