February 26 - The Gift of Time

Today, I have a guest author. Casey Michel is a recent graduated from St. Mary’s high school in Dell Rapids. He is currently a student at DSU and a friend of my daughter’s. Last night he was unable to sleep and utilized the gift of time to write a message. This message has been floating around Dell Rapids in e-mails all day. I have an exept of “The Gift of Time” for you to read. I personally called Casey this afternoon and let him know how much I appreciated his message. He was flattered that I asked permission to include it in “Blessings”. I will be including other segments of “The Gift of Time” in later e-mails.


The Gift of Time
Written By: Casey Michel

Some people like to talk about the “best gift they’ve ever been given.” People talk about something like a car or jewelry, and they usually cover everything in between. However, the best gift ever given to mankind is not given to us on this earth. When God creates a human He gives them the best gift anyone could ask for: the gift of time. Along with the gift of time, God gives us a side gift: the gift of free will – the ability to decide what we wish to do with our time, either good or bad. It took me nearly 20 years and one tragic event to realize what a precious gift the gift of time really is.

You see, I always used to be like everybody in this world; I would always wonder how I was going to get everything done that needed to be done, wondering why there were never enough hours in the day. You look around and see the world moving at such a fast pace that you wonder how anybody could get by, and I felt like I was in the same boat with everyone else.

I didn’t always have enough time to help out a friend. After all I had my own stuff to take care of, just like everyone else. And if I couldn’t make time for a friend or a loved one, how could I make time for anybody else? When I saw a stranger on crutches struggling with their books, I just kept walking. I couldn’t help them; I was in too big of a rush. A rush to where? I don’t know, but I had places to be and things to do, and I didn’t have nearly enough hours in the day to do it.
And so I went about my life day by day by day. I was always in a hurry, always in a rush; I didn’t have time to do anything.

That was up until that February Sunday changed everything.
Suddenly, I wasn’t in such a rush; suddenly, I had time. I had time to help a friend with homework, or to talk to them about something. I had time to help carry books for the stranger on crutches. Not only did I now have time, but I somehow made time, too. I made time to ask a friend “Hey, how you holding up?” “Hey, how’s everything going for you?” I made time to tell my family and friends that I love them. I made time to let everyone know that I’m here for them whenever they need me; that I will always answer if they call. And I know I would answer if they called. You can bet on it. After all – now I had the time to.

It’s almost as if God granted me more hours in the day. It’s almost as if He not only gave me more time to do what had to get done, but also more time to do what needed to be done. But this isn’t at all the case. The amount of time God gave me on this earth did not change one second from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. I will not live one second longer or shorter because of what happened on a football field in Dell Rapids in the morning hours of February 22, 2009. Neither will anybody who reads this or who was affected by that tragic event. No, rather, God granted me the ability to realize what a precious gift time really is; and to use that time to seize every second, every moment that I am on this earth.

It was through this tragic event that I learned probably the most important lesson of my life:
You don’t realize how much time you have, until you realize that time is all you’ve got.


Blessings
Robin