Time Bandits

"I'm so busy!"
"I simply couldn't get it all done today."
"Who expects me to do all of this? Shouldn't someone be helping me?"

Such familiar phrases! Schedules are overflowing with commitments and appointments that must be met. Blackberries and iPhones and internet and television and Tevo and OnDemand and cell phones and sports and exercise and the kids' homework and volunteering and service (the list is endless!) keep us running at full tilt, often times running even when our tilt is hardly full and could use a long overdue rest.

We are a busy society. Period. No questions, just a statement. In the midst of my busy-ness I find time bandits. Poltergeists - nasty little critters that cause disorder. Mischievous, petite demons make off with my precious time when I am not looking. Like the men in the 1981 movie, the Time Bandits in my life are moving about seeking treasure to steal. That treasure is the time that I can never recover.

Seemingly innocuous interruptions add up to days and weeks of stolen time that is forever lost. Five minutes talking in the break room turns into five minutes that force me to stay later in the office which in turn gets me home a little later which means dinner is rushed or cold and I miss time to enjoy my husband and children.

Perusing the appliance aisle in Lowe's and lusting over the Energy Star Washer/Dryer combo in fabulous shade of Mediterranean Blue for more than a minute becomes me being out of the house longer than I meant to be and I find that the day has somehow slipped away from me. (For the record, it is unfortunate but true that I correctly used the word "lusting" in reference to appliances because I can see this beautiful duo of appliance wonder sitting in my laundry room, shining in its glory, and somehow bringing an end to all of my domestic woes.)

It is not wrong to talk to a friend or spend a few minutes daydreaming. The point is that we have to be careful of letting these minutes add up to hours and then days and steal away our lives. God wants to be first even in our every day calendars; when we put Him there we quickly discover His presence causes the Time Bandits to go somewhere else and play.

Think about it: Banishing the Time Bandits. That doesn't sound too bad to me.