the value of five minutes

"Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." Psalm 90:12 NLT

I'm learning how valuable five minutes is. Five minutes isn't that long, but wisdom begs that we use five minutes wisely. That doesn't necessarily mean we need to multitask or be endlessly busy, but that we choose well what we do within each set of five minutes we have.

One example I face every day, but last night in particular... when I put the kiddos to bed, we have a fairly lengthy routine that I sometimes try to cut short so I can get on with my work for that day or whatever reason/logic I have for that day. Last night, the boys had brought me a longer picture book to read, and then picked out a second even longer picture book, and I thought, "I should say no to reading both long books because it will take too much time."

Then I thought, "Spend the extra time reading to them. Those five minutes will matter more to them than to me using it to clean the kitchen or get work done."

I did. I sat and read the book fully so they could have their two books before going to bed.

Reading to my kids is a key foundation of my kids' learning at home, so it was important to invest five minutes in reading that longer book!

While I read the book, I had another choice to make. We are in the process of sorting out Legos into bins by color, and we are so close to being done. The pile of Legos left to sort was right in front of me while I read, and I wanted to finish the sorting while I read. Talk about multitasking, but also talk about distraction.

So I forced myself to simply read. Again, the kids would be more impacted by my concentrated effort of just reading than by my finishing up sorting the Legos. They may not recognize in that moment or care if I did both, but it's a principle of focus and importance I needed to do for myself and show for them to learn from.

Well, I hear a baby crying, so off I go to get her cheery face and start the day with the kiddos.

Happy day to you all! Keep at your resolutions today. Say no, say yes, do what you promised yourself... and remember the value of your choices, even for five minutes.