Faith: Make the most of every hour you have

Recently we changed our clocks ahead an hour for daylight saving time.

This, of course, led to the usual lamenting over this time change and calls to stop this practice in the United States.

There are some valid points on both sides to continue or stop the biannual changing of our clocks. Honestly, it is all a bit of a game.

Long before there were clocks as we know them, time was kept by the sun, the moon, the tides, the seasons and more. We have all agreed to abide by time as kept with a 24-hour day and tracked by a clock.

Nature and the planet, though, pay no mind to our devices. One hour is not going to change much for any of us unless we are very intentional with that hour.

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” — Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.

I would argue that we do know the value of time, or at least we understand its value more as we get older.

I believe in the value of one hour of idleness. It seems that our lives almost demand it in the craziness of the world. There should be no shame in stepping back or unplugging for an hour.

If you can do this daily, all the better! It may be in these 60 minutes that clarity or peace of mind comes.

Just how important is one hour? One hour sitting in traffic is horrible. One hour spent with a good friend over a cup of coffee is something to savor.

Now consider the big picture of your life. At some point you may sit with your thoughts and wish that you had spent your hours differently.

They say no one gets to the end of their life and wishes they had worked more. This is generally trotted out to remind people to take their PTO or vacations, to clock out on time and leave work behind so as to be truly present in the moments that matter.

Work serves a purpose and is necessary, so it does not make much sense to me to lament hours spent at work too much. There are many people who enjoy their work so much that it does not feel like work.

If you can find purpose in your work, then this will most likely be the case.

The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible is used often when we speak of time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

Within the economy of God, an hour is less than a blink of an eye.

As we look back at the seasons of our lives, the hours that brought us the most joy will seem as if they have passed the most quickly.

Truthfully, the hours that were most difficult held the same 60 minutes. It is up to each of us to make the most of every hour we have, and not waste any on regret.

The yearly time change is just one hour and, despite the headlines, will make little difference on our lives. It is the way that we use each hour, each day, to make the most out of the entire season that we are in, that creates a life that we can look back on with no regrets.

The value of an hour is up to each of us, spend wisely!

Jen Matthees is pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Pequot Lakes and supply pastor at Pine River United Methodist Church.