Efficient

I am pretty sure if an employer were reading this they might not always define my use of time as efficient.  I am also pretty sure that writing on this blog is not something most would remotely describe as an efficient use of my time, considering everything else  I could be doing or that NEEDS to be done.  And truthfully, that struggle for using my time efficiently always seems to reside foremost in my brain.  Even at this moment, I vacillate in labeling this moment as efficient.  I suppose (notice I am still musing on that) to fulfill the axiom  "get the most out of life"  we need to be efficient. What does that actually look like?

ef·fi·cient adjective 1. performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and   effort; having and usng requisite knowledge, skill, and industry; competent; capable 2. satisfactory and economical to use 3. producing an effect, as a ase; causative 4. utilizing a particular commodity or product with the least waste of resources or effort

High school ingrained this quest motto: "use your time wisely and efficiently." Occasionally, in a rare move for me, I would be found sitting and socializing on the landing  before and between classes talking about weekend activities, upcoming events, singing out random songs that words brought to our brains. Occasionally, I could be found during my study hall sitting outside catching warm sun rays on my arms and legs and joining in idle chatter with friends. Usually, a book was nearby to accomplish minor homework tasks. Those moments were most often interceded by the wandering principal who asked if we were using our time wisely. One time, she actually directed the question to me alone. The response in my head sounded something like this: "Okay Sister, I edit the newspaper (at times at school nights and on my weekend), play volleyball after school, lead the senior class as class president, achieve straight A's..... you can back off now! I think I have that skill mastered. You don't need to continue to harass ME about using my time wisely. Go find someone else. Believe me---this is efficient use of my time." Remember, I said that was in my head.  Now, I wish I had taken more time in high school on the landing to "use my time wisely." I might have acquired much earlier what I now consider a better grasp of my use of time.

I am pretty sure anyone tagging time as "efficient" determines that by his value and use of the end mark, the goal, the product. Thus, a boss would probably find this blog an "inefficient" use of time. Yet, I am talking about that personal question that eeks into your brain lying in bed at the end of the day: "What do I have to show for my day?" Or perhaps phrased differently in your brain, it is the question your spouse asks: "What did you do today?" Immediately, my brain wants to answer with items crossed off the post-it note list lying on the counter like conquests of accomplishments and evidence of an "efficient" use of my day. Are these defensive maneuvers to prove the worth of my moments? The pace of our current culture may push me to define our moments by outward symbols and signs.
 

Our moments "efficiency" need to be reborn. Perhaps, they need to become organic again without all the pesticides of our culture's definition. Reborn moments...Jesus' gift to humankind was to show that God's value is not in your product but rather in you. Jesus' time was spent in relationship with others and not in an earthly kingdom reign that people were expecting. People were waiting to herald an earthly king---thinking that would be the best possible manner for the Savior to reign. Yet, God redefined an efficient Savior. Even His great accomplishments, his miracles, were not measure of the value of His time on earth. Rather His efficient time, His life well lived was found in the journey he traveled. Living was the goal...just simply living His moments to glorify and honor His Father. The same God that chose to redeem Jesus' moments on earth also chooses to redeem the moments He gives us. I am continually remembering to redefine efficient time.

Does the efficient use of time imply we have to be ALL IN or SOLD OUT to that moment? What if I don't live my life intentionally? If I am not sold out to each moment in life, I think those moments can still be redeemed in the reflection of them. The moments we live are not just given for the present use but also for the future. It is as if we collect moments as luggage to carry to the future on our journeys of discovery. Obviously, some of those moments weigh more. Voyageurs move through space and time. Our travels always require a reflection upon the moments that comprise the distance of time we were allotted, both individually and collectively. Is the efficient use of our time that we actually SEE and KNOW the truth of the moments for what their uses are or that we can attribute value to them as we live them? Looking back on our time spent allows a perspective from which to glean current wisdom from life's past experiences. So then, the inefficient and wasted moments are those that we don't use to journey the road we are made to travel. Discovery and salvation in Pilgrim's Progress are derived from the events and sojourners Christian, the protagonist,  encounters. We must learn to derive meaning from our moments.

 

Our family says that "we are making a memory" about those seemingly silly moments in time that no one will probably categorize as productive or efficient.

What about hanging with friends on the playground in junior high? What about those victorious moments when the girls experienced victory running faster than the boys at recess races. Or what about that memorable yet annoying moment a boy so poetrically described me: "your eyes are like cesspools."

  

What about those hours I took to lunch and visit an old friend in California with my mom and daughter? The strength of soul that she taught me can never be better honored.

  What about 9 years of watching my son's football games? Oh my---true grit and perseverance and prayer.

What about picking out jewelry for a wedding gift for my daughter, helping her try on wedding dresses, and watching her get her hair done on her wedding day? Shared experiences take the stress away.

 What about reading books on the couch in the same room with my oldest son? No words shared aloud except loving the moment we were in ---together.

What about donning capes  with Jordan?--superbizzaro a waste of time? That was a donning of shared fun and bonding.

 What about a quiet walk with my dog? Recently buried in our yard, I realize even more the value of those moments. 

 

There are so many moments that we could question the efficiency of. How will we know if we are functioning in the best possible manner to use our time efficiently? When we ask that question, we may realize the answer may be best found in retrospect. Perhaps, those moments that teach us something about ourselves and others are the most valuable no matter how inefficiently we thought we spent them as they were occuring. The journey was necessary.
 

Well, I've taken several hours to write this blog. I know I said employers might find this blog an inefficient use of time. I would like to note that my boss and principal took a couple moments out of my teaching time to consecrate a moment that spoke greater volumes than the picture shows: that we wore the same clothes. The moment shared was of sharing the same heart and reveling in the fun of our friendship with our students. My tag: an efficient use of time.

Now, I both muse and laugh at leaving this question: "Are you making efficient use of time?" I have my answer for my moments.