Don’t Leave It to Chance

If we know that we're going to have an unusually busy day ahead, we should account for that and prepare accordingly.

Let's face it: we can be busy people, and each day can look different from the next. That's part of living in a modern world. On some days, it's easy to spend a lot of time with God in prayer and meditation because there's little else on our agenda. Thank the Lord for such days. Then there are days where we might have back-to-back meetings and significant evening responsibilities. If we're hoping to spend ample amounts of time with God each and every day, we're going to need a little bit of foresight and some planning—especially on days that are extra busy. We can't just leave it to chance. If we know that we're going to have an unusually busy day ahead, we should account for that and prepare accordingly.

The other day, I knew I had a busy day on my hands. I had to work all day and I had a planning meeting scheduled for the evening. I also had to drop off some family members at the airport. Just the airport trip and evening meeting alone would take three hours out of my day that could have gone to spiritual practices. I anticipated this jam-packed evening and so I planned ahead accordingly. I got up early to jump start my time with the Lord. Even before the workday officially began, I already got to spend a couple of hours with God. I then found time wherever I could during the day to engage in some brief spiritual exercises. I found some time during a break in the middle of the workday and I found some time just before my evening meeting. With a little bit of foresight and planning, I was still able to churn out three hours of quality prayer and meditation. I write this to show that spending ample amounts of time with the Lord can be done even with a very busy schedule. But honestly, don't leave it to chance. Plan and prepare well for it.

Barnabas the Monastic

Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.