Taking Up Space

Taking Up Space

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is.

Psalm 39:4

When I was growing up, I was taught the “right way” to do things. When hand washing dishes, I learned to wash glasses and silverware first because those things touch your lips and need to be the most sanitary. I learned to make the bed with the printed sides of sheets touching so it would look nice when I pulled back the covers. I also learned to iron dress shirts neatly. When I was married and we started adding kids to our home, I questioned how much time should be spent on doing things “right.” Ironing took hours each week. So to save me time, my husband discovered permanent-press shirts! Sometimes there is an easier way that takes up less time and space. The Amish cook Lovina Eicher agrees:

By late September, large orange pumpkins begin to show themselves in area gardens. They are the whales of the garden! I love to grow my own pumpkins, but sometimes I can’t because they take up so much room in the garden.

Mom always grew pumpkins and then canned the puree for pie filling. You can get a lot of pie filling out of a few pumpkins. Most years, Mom put a few plants out, but not every year, again because of the space. As she began to go to the grocery store more, canned pumpkin pie filling got so cheap it wasn’t worth her time to can it at home.

Consider your life. Is there anything taking up space in your schedule that doesn’t need to be there? Are you still doing things a certain way because “that’s the way they’re done”? Can you find a better way? Our time on earth is short, and there are too many important things that God desires us to do. Yes, sometimes we need to plant a pumpkin or two, but sometimes we need to tell ourselves that canned puree is okay!

Dear heavenly Father, help me to realize how short life is so that I can make space for the more important things You have for me to do.