By Lucretia

Restructuring our Time

Most people I know struggle with finding time to get everything on their to-do lists done. They run from daylight to long after dark trying to achieve the pleasure of finishing the list. Except that rarely do they accomplish it all.  We’re left with exhaustion, stress, anxiety, frustration, and a sense of guilt that we don’t quite measure up.

In many seasons of my life, especially when the girls were young, this was my story too. Even now that I’m way past the season of active parenting, I can still find myself packing too much into the day and come to the end with not one ounce of energy left for those I love most.

Randy Frazee wrote a very interesting book in 2003, Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships.  In it he encourages his readers to commit to live by the Hebrew Day Planner.  “The pattern of the Hebrew day was taken from creation. After describing the day’s creative work the author of Genesis concluded the section with these words, ‘and there was evening and there was morning - the first (second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth) day.’”

The ancients lived in an agrarian society when work was done in the daylight hours. Work was done from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Six in the evening signaled that it was time for relationships; a good dinner prepared for and eaten with family and neighbors. Then sleep - aah that elusive element many of us are so deprived of. 

Restructuring our time by the Hebrew Day Planner is just one way Bill and I are living more gently with ourselves.  It is helping us live at a more human pace and make room for work, relationships, and sleep. We enjoy preparing dinner together and eating at a more leisurely pace. Many times we have friends over to share dinner and conversation.

Walking together in our neighborhood or taking our books out on the porch is another way we purpose not to “work” into the night. Spending time on the porch or in the neighborhood in the evenings gives us a chance to meet and talk with our neighbors. Something we rarely did when our evenings were consumed with chores and work brought home from the office.

And, yes, we do get to bed earlier than we used to, and that’s a very good thing. When I sleep 8 hours I wake feeling rested and ready for a new day. I can tackle those tasks left undone from the day before with a fresh and more alert mind. It's a win/win situation.

What about you? How are you restructuring time to create sacred space for God, family, friends, and rest?