Precious Time

Do you ever have those moments in life when you realize that there is so much more that you could be doing? I was listening to President Eyring this morning from his audio book "Because He First Loved Us", and in it, he talks about time. He mentioned a time as a teenager where he heard a voice in his mind say that one day when he knew who he truly was, he would lament over all the time he wasted. It led me to ask the question, how much time do I waste?

Time is one of those precious gifts from God. Once time is gone, there is no reclaiming it, it just slips into history. One cannot slow time, or stop time, or get it back. This is why it is a gift of such great importance, because what we do with our time today, defines who we are tomorrow. We must take the advice from the Latin poem by Horace, "Carpe Diem", we must Seize the day! The word "Carpe" literally means to pluck up, or to gather up, to make yours. We must rule the day, rather than allowing the day to rule us.

We all have the list of daily things that we must get done and want to get done, but are we allowing the list to fill itself with the musts and the wants, while leaving no room for the shoulds? Some items on my list I cannot neglect, but there are a fair number of items that either start on my list, or find their way there that push the shoulds into the dark. I know I should read my scriptures every day. I know I should say my prayers both day and night. I know I should do my home teaching. I suppose if I used my list to define who I am today, the definition might sound fine to the world, but I wonder how my Father in Heaven might respond. While I'm sure he would respond with love, I think it would be in the form of loving guidance toward a better way. Maybe it is time to take another look at my list.