"Feb 4, 2012 marked the end of an era. On that day, Florence Green, of London England died at the age of 110. Florence was the world’s last living veteran of World War I.
She joined the Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17, where she served as an officers' mess steward. On her 110th birthday she was asked how it felt to be 110. She cleverly replied, “Not much different to being 109.”
When I heard this story, I was reminded of the swift passing of time and how every generation is destined to someday leave this world. Perhaps during your lifetime the news will come that the last remaining WWII veteran has passed. Then eventually, you and every member of your generation, no matter how young you are now, will be gone.
The Bible emphasizes that life is short. Our time here is limited. That’s why we must make every day count for God. We must redeem the time.
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"Gladys saw an advertisement for a roach extermination kit guaranteed to work when you follow 3 simple steps. When the package arrived she opened it to find 2 wooden blocks and instructions for the three simple steps:
1. Catch roach
2. Place roach on block A
3. Smash roach with block B
Those 3 steps had an inherent flaw. But here are 3 steps to managing your time each day that really will work:
1. Identify your goals. Ask God what it is He wants you to accomplish today
2. Prioritize your goals. Ask yourself, “If I could only do one thing on this list, which one would it be?” Assign the number 1 to it. Place a 2 by the second most important, and so on down the list.
3. Begin your day by working on #1. Stay with it as long as needed to get it done. Then, and only then, move to #2 and work your way down.
There’s a 3 step formula that really will redeem the time.
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"The two letter word with more definitions than any other is “UP.” Look it UP in the dictionary. It will take UP a fourth of a page, with UP to 30 definitions.
At a meeting a topic comes UP, we speak UP and it’s UP to the secretary to write UP a report. We call UP a friend to brighten UP her day, while we polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
But there are four Ups we need to do first thing each day. They are wake UP, get UP, stay UP, and look UP. First, wake up on time. Second, get up. If you snooze you lose. Third, stay up. Make your bed ASAP so it doesn’t snare you.
The fourth up is the most important. Look UP to God for instructions. Then go up, up, and away as you redeem the time.
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"Flintstones vitamins came on the market in 1968. But it wasn’t until 26 years later, in 1994, that they included Betty Rubble. They had Fred, Wilma, Barney, Pebbles, Bam Bam, and even Dino and the Flintstone car. But no Betty.
There were various theories of why Betty was excluded. Some thought she looked too much like Wilma when reduced to a vitamin. Others thought her thin waist would cause her to break in two. After this omission was brought to their attention through a public campaign, Bayer, the maker, replaced the Flintstone car with Betty and she’s been there ever since.
When I read that piece of trivia I thought, “Who has time to start a public campaign to help Betty Rubble?” She’s a cartoon. She’s fictional.
Social media has given us the opportunity to sign on to a lot of causes. But we only have so many hours in a day. Let’s make sure we’re giving priority to the causes God would have us to. The ones that redeem the time.
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