Schedules Can Get Messy

The pursuit and study of a good time management plan began on a crazy, manic Monday at the O’Hare Airport. I couldn’t shake the frantic and panicked look on the faces of those desperately trying to beat the clock. Their pain was all too familiar. How could we win this war? I needed to find a way to manage time.

The best way to ensure optimum performance on a product is to go to the manufacturer’s handbook. Our search begins, and Genesis is the best place to start. And in the process of time it came to pass (Genesis 4:3). Now in the process of time (Genesis 38:12). It happened in the process of time (Exodus 2:23).

Are we developing a theme here?

It came to pass in the process of time (Judges 11:4). 2 Chronicles 21:19 (I tried not to laugh). “And it came to pass, that in the process of time, after the end of two years, Libnah‘s bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases.” (KJV)

Oh, good Grief! The process can really get messy, and besides, I’m not a process kind of girl.

Seriously, if I can’t lose 82 pounds or write a comprehensive book on Time Management by next Tuesday, I find myself uninterested.

The aversion to the process of time made my life difficult and nearly impossible. My Bible study was “grab and go.” Read a Psalm; throw in a Proverb. I put off going on a sensible diet, starting an exercise program, writing that book, even saving for a dream vacation because those things involved a process and couldn’t be accomplished in a day.

Fortunately, God, the creator of time, patiently waited and constantly called me to trade the crown I received as the reigning “Queen of Frantic” for the peace found in His perfect timing. Trust me, this has been a process!

For me, checking off the boxes was what it was all about. But God was really more interested in teaching me about the process of time. What is the process of time? What does that mean?

According to one business dictionary, The Process of Time is defined as the period when one or more inputs are transformed into a finished product. While spending so much time trying to minimize the time we spend in the process, quality of time is compromised. We are so busy trying to accelerate into the future, longing to realize the finished product. We must learn to value the precious and sometimes not so precious time we spend during the process.

This is a place of learning, growing and maturing so we will be equipped to handle the finished product.