Time...

My husband, bless his heart, is a Lord of the Rings fan! He was a fan way before the movies came out. He would read through the Trilogy every summer, and has read all the books! Any question I have he is willing to give me thourough answers - such as the genealogy of an elf, or of a ranger such as Aragorn, or the history of middle earth, or even better pull out a map to bring clarity! What can I say - he is a nerd and I love him for it!

As we were watching The Fellowship of the Ring, it came to the part where Frodo is tired of bearing the weight of the ring...

"Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil."

I was next to tears. I have seen this movie a few times, and it never fully hit me as it did the other day. The word 'ring' could be substituted for illness, infidelity, abuse, pain, betrayal, etc. Our world is full of such pain. This week my heart was greatly troubled and burdened with some incredibly sad news of a friend. This amazing woman of God is now facing the fight of her life. I couldn't help but think of her as I heard these words.

We don't get to decide what tragedies come our way, but all we do have is the TIME given to us. Even when it seems that evil prevails in this world, we are reminded that there are other forces at work. GOD is still at work in our world today. He still has the power to heal, comfort and restore. And though He promised that in this world we will have trouble, He also promised that HE has overcome the world.

In the grand scheme of life - what is our most valuable possesion? A mansion, an SUV, designer labels? Of course not -I believe it is TIME. Time is our most precious gift. Yet, time slips through our fingertips like sand. Do we really appreciate each moment? When I walked through the deepest valley with Gracie, every day was gold. I understood the importance of time. Yet, when crisis ceases, we often forget this precious gift. Each breath we take is given to us. We are living on borrowed time.

Today I am learning a lesson from good ol' Gandalf - I am choosing to decide what to do with this precious time given to me...I think I'll start by saying a prayer for my friend, and then hugging my kids extra close tonight.