So You Need More Time?
BEFORE you think, ``I don't even have time to read this article,'' let me reassure you, there is a way to do whatever you need to do! God gives us ample opportunity to express Him, to do His work. This is the only real work any of us has to do. Working for God, expressing His goodness in everything you do, brings continuing growth in your abilities and in your capacities. Time is not the determining factor.
Indeed, when doing God's work is our goal, each day brings opportunities, never limits! You do not need to feel frustrated or pressured by time. Consider how Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Church of Christ, Scientist, describes time in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: ``Mortal measurements; limits, in which are summed up all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge; matter; error; that which begins before, and continues after, what is termed death, until the mortal disappears and spiritual perfection appears'' (p. 595).
The good you do today can't be limited by deadlines or measured by hours. Not when you know that the source of all good is God. We overcome the limits time seems to impose on us by measuring our accomplishments according to the unlimited scale of spiritual good. God is the source of the true and the spiritual, and these can govern every aspect of your daily rounds. Mere routine ceases to be humdrum and becomes a flow of inspiration. A challenge can find you already confident of a successful outcome.
Here's an example. One morning I left the house with a long list of errands that needed to be done that particular day. I took some tapes of hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal with me to play as I drove. The tape was not completely rewound, so the very first music I heard was the last lines of a hymn. The words were: ``Thy day shall mercy lengthen: / The Lord will give thee peace'' (No. 77). ``How wonderful,'' I thought. ``Divine Love makes my day longer and fills it up with peace!'' I felt blessed. It wasn't more hours in the day that I needed, but the confidence that God was blessing what I did each step of the way and making lots of room for more good! The Bible, in Psalms, puts this promise of peace this way, ``The Lord will bless his people with peace'' (29:11).
About halfway through my errands, I stopped at the Christian Science Reading Room our branch church maintains. The attendant, a friend, commented to me how he didn't really have time to be there serving because he had so many things to do at home.
``Oh,'' I said with a smile, ``You don't want more time. That's mortal measurements and limits.'' He was familiar with Mrs. Eddy's description of time, and I shared with him how the lines from the hymn I had heard had helped me see that God makes each day generous enough for all the good that needs to fit into it. He felt relieved of a burden. He was really there because he loved Church and wanted to help others. No loss could come from this love. He didn't need to be limited by frustration or hurry. Nor did he need to measure how much good might fit into his day.
It was the end of the day before I arrived home again. All the errands were complete and I was totally happy and relaxed. The day had been long enough to do all I needed to with no rushing, no pressure, just the gentle sense of God's loving presence and control. Now this is a very commonplace example. No world-shaking decisions were on the line here. But lessons learned in small happenings are applicable to large ones as well.
One of the things I learned was that inspiration overrules time. Joy and the assurance that Love, God, is governing your day will make work effective, harmonious, peaceful. Divine Love will surely enable you, God's loved child, to accomplish what you need to do and to do it with dominion. The task for me that day was not to do the fifteen things on my list; it was to recognize the inspiration from God, to follow it, to make it my own, to share it in a healing way. So now I'm prepared to listen again, whether I am busy or have very little to do, and know that God will fill my day with good.
You don't really need more time. You need, and can always find, inspiration from God.
