September 17, 2025
Time doesn’t get enough credit. We talk about money as if it’s scarce, about opportunities as if they’re rare, about relationships as if they’re fragile. But time? We act like it’s an unlimited resource, casually tossed around in phrases like “I’ll do it later” or “Maybe someday.” But, time is the most beautiful gift we have, precisely because it is limited.
I see this most clearly as a dad. My kids are still little, but not as little as yesterday. That part sneaks up on me. Yesterday, my oldest was born, but today, he turned six. I blinked and he went from wearing diapers to helping change his toddler sister’s diapers.
Time has quietly moved us forward.
The beauty in time isn’t that it gives us forever, it’s that it reminds us to notice now. It’s that rare laugh around the dinner table. It’s that random, quiet morning when the world feels still. It’s the way memories sneak into the present and make you pause.
Wasting Time vs. Spending Time
We all waste time. Scrolling, complaining, replaying conversations in our heads, putting off things we know we should do. The guilt creeps in afterward, but maybe that’s also part of the gift: the reminder that this currency is too valuable to throw away.
The flip side is that when you spend time well, when you use it for something meaningful, it multiplies. Time invested in teaching my son to ride a bike isn’t just an afternoon; it’s a memory he’ll hold onto. The minutes I spend writing these reflections aren’t just words on a screen, they’re a record of what mattered to me in this season of my life.
The Gift We Don’t Recognize
Here’s the catch: because time shows up disguised as ordinary life, we rarely treat it like the treasure it is. We assume tomorrow will look like today, until one day it doesn’t. That realization can either scare us into paralysis or motivate us into action.
When I look at it as a gift, it shifts my perspective. Suddenly, the boring commute becomes time to think. The chore-filled Saturday morning becomes time to teach my kids responsibility (or at least try). Even the messes, literal and figurative, become markers of a life being lived, not a life waiting on the sidelines.
Choosing to Notice
The hard part isn’t getting more time. It’s noticing the time we already have. That means resisting the temptation to keep waiting for perfect circumstances. It means remembering that the gift is here, even if it’s wrapped in routines and responsibilities.
So today, instead of rushing through the hours, I want to notice them. To actually unwrap the gift. To remember that time is not owed, but offered.
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