the same 24 hours

i'm about to get riled up

if i hear the phrase, "i don't have time..."

one more time, i'm going to pop

i mean it

i might just punch something...or someone

my students use this LAME excuse almost every day

as if giving them 7 days and two class periods to put together a project wasn't enough

my children say it 

my co-workers say it

but the person i am most sickened by in regards to this phrase is me

it rolls around in my head all day long as i think about things like exercise, books i want to read, friends i want to call, things i want to make, rooms i'd like to paint....the list goes on

and then i get exhausted thinking about them and how i am so burdened by this house, these kids, this job...that i just can't do it all

here's what's true:

i'm busy

i have three kids

a job

a marriage

a home

but there's what's true and then there's the truth.

the truth is...i have the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else

the same 24 hours that Mozart had

the same 24 hours that Mother Teresa had

the same 24 hours that DaVinci had
the same 24 hours that Jesus had

i'm not saying that i have aspirations to write music or run an orphanage

but i do have aspirations to be a good friend, listen well, maintain a cozy home, cook good meals, teach my children to write old fashioned letters and enjoy a list of about 500 good books

the idea that i don't have time is a lie
and when i complain about it, whine about it and throw tantrums about how i can't get it all done...
well, all i'm really doing is proving that i'm a lot more like my 2 year old than i'd like to admit

i do have time

24 hours
every day

no more complaining

these girls are looking to ME as a model of how a woman navigates through the world

and acting like i'm suffering in the midst of blessing is a poor legacy to pass on

today i have 24 hours

tomorrow, too

i have FULLNESS in Christ

and i CAN get it all done

i have time for playing on the floor

and hide and seek

i have time for monster icicles

and dancing to FROZEN music at the breakfast table

i have time for snuggles

and climbing

and bills and laundry and friends and jogging and phone calls and healthy meals and running a marathon and changing the world and plenty of rest

i'm doing it.
i am.

nobody's gonna' stop me ;)