Time

A good friend asked me last night, "How do you find time to write?"

My answer:

We all find time to do what we really want to do. Did I have time to watch a sappy Hallmark made for TV movie last night? Of course not.

Do I have time to play a quick computer game, "rewarding myself" for working so hard? Not really.

Do I have time to sit down and play cards with my kids? Nope, I have two jobs.

Do I have time to clean the house? Never.

We all find the time to do what we want to do.

When I was younger and more of a zealot I commented that people have the time and money for what is important to them. I suggested that if we were all going to be honest, our response to requests would always be, "I'm sorry. My priorities won't allow me to do so."

The lines "I'm too busy" or "I don't have the money" are really not true. Because most of us middle-class Americans have the time and the money to do what is really important to us.

We don't have the money to tithe, but we do have the money for a new boat, motorcycle, or big screen TV.
We don't have money to take care of starving children in Africa, but we can eat out twice a week.
We don't have the money to help out a stranger who needs a night in a motel, but we do have money for a weekend getaway for the family.

We don't have time to teach Sunday school, but we never miss "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
We don't have time to volunteer at the local food shelf, but we make sure we go fishing twice a month.
We don't have time to send a card or a note to a friend, but we can sit down and read a novel.

Dont' get me wrong -- I'm not even saying that we shouldn't have a new boat, or eat out, or have a weekend getaway.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with watching TV, fishing, or reading a novel.

But we need to be intellectually honest. We have time and money for what we want to do.

So the next time you catch yourself saying, "Sorry, I don't have the time." Or, "we just don't have the money right now", at least be honest with yourself and admit ...

It's a priority thing.

And that is why, right now, I have time to write.