Quit Reminding Yourself Not to Forget

Years ago, I enrolled in a brief but intensive course on time management. The term itself is a bit of an oxymoron because we really can’t “manage” time. All we can do is strive to utilize our minutes and hours effectively and productively, not to squander them. But what I remember most from those two days was a commonsense recommendation.

 

What was the recommendation? Simply, it was to write things down so you won’t forget them. The instructor cited a study that indicated much of our mental energy is expended trying to remind ourselves not to forget something. 

 

Whether it’s an appointment, an errand we need to run, an item we’ll need to get at the grocery store, or in my case, an idea for an article or book I’m working on, write it down. The sooner, the better. Then we won’t need to worry about our memory failing us. “Now what was that I wanted to be sure not to forget?”

 

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve awakened in the middle of the night with an intriguing idea rattling around in my mind. “I’ll have to write that down in the morning.” But when the next morning comes it’s gone, perhaps lost forever in the graveyard for great ideas that were forgotten. Now, if I wake up with “the best idea since sliced bread,” even though it’s a bit of a nuisance I get out of bed and write it down on a notepad. Then I can return to sleep, unencumbered by, “Remember, don’t forget….”

 

I’ve found this a valuable strategy for spiritual growth as well. When I hear a particularly memorable concept during a sermon or a speaker offers a clever insight during a conference, I write those things down immediately. Someone once said something about how physically recording what we hear reinforces the impact of the concept: “From the lips, into the ears, and out through the fingertips.” 

 

Otherwise, I might find myself perplexed trying to recall whatever it was I thought was so significant at that moment. Without jotting it down with my pen, it’s in one ear and out the other.

 

This is one reason we have the Scriptures compiled as they are today. Early Jewish tradition was to pass important ideas along orally, but by writing them down they could be recorded with exactitude – as well as more easily remembered. In 2 Peter 1:20-21 we read, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

 

The ancient yet timeless prophetic words we find in the Bible weren’t only spoken and then written to be read by the prophets’ peers but also for countless generations to follow. We have thoughts, reflections, and observations about Jesus Christ that His disciples witnessed firsthand. They spoke these wherever they went, but apostles like Matthew, John and Paul also put them in writing to be preserved for posterity.

 

Writing down what we’re trying to remember is also helpful in memorizing Bible verses. I’ve had many people tell me, “I can’t memorize things,” but in fact they do – stuff like phone numbers, addresses and other information important to them. Probably because they initially wrote them down. When I’ve been attempting to memorize a passage of Scripture, especially a long or difficult one, writing it down has greatly enhanced the process. 

 

Studies of communications have shown that the more senses involved in conveying a message, the greater the likelihood that it will be received successfully. For instance, when we hear someone say something of note, if we physically write it down and then look at it, we’re involving three senses – hearing, sight and touch.

 

I think of this when I read passages like Psalm 119:9-11, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word…. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” And there’s no better way to “hide” the Word of God in our hearts than not only to hear it, read it and intentionally try to commit to memory, but also to write it down so we can see it and create a mental image of the truths we desire to possess.

When we write down what we don’t want to forget, all we need to remember is to look at what we wrote. 

Tackling the Time Conundrum

As I write this – a couple of weeks ago – it was one month after my wife and I were just arriving in Rome for our 12-day group tour of Italy, and one week since I was getting prepared for a heart valve replacement. I remember looking ahead to both of these events, along with the wedding of our granddaughter in Ohio several weeks earlier. Now, all three have come and gone, with new things to anticipate. And our lives go on.

Time is a funny thing. Science tells us it’s constant, that a minute is always a minute long, that a day is always 24 hours, and a year is always 365 days – except for leap year, when it’s 366. But have you ever had the thought, “This has been the longest day!” and then heard someone say the same thing? Conversely, occasionally we say, “This day has flown by,” and another person responds, “It sure has!” So, is time really all that constant?

My purpose is not to debate or conjecture the space-time continuum. I prefer to stick with things I know about. But what do we have that’s more precious than time? We might say it’s money, but for most of us, there are always ways of making or generating more money, whether it’s working more or selling stuff. However, we can’t generate more time – and we can’t really save it. You can’t put it into a safety deposit box, or stash it into a self-storage unit. It comes and goes, whether we’re ready for it or not. Today turns into yesterday in a flash, and tomorrow transforms into today before we know it.

When I was young, I remember summer vacations seemed to go on forever. But as I got older, those idyllic breaks in the educational process started moving faster and faster, until the summer seemed little more than a eye’s blink. As they say, time takes wings when you’re having fun.

As an adult in the business world, I attended classes on “time management.” If there’s ever been anything less accurately named, I can’t think of it. Because we can’t “manage” time. We can only use it as it comes and try not to waste the moments before they flee.

Not that we must squeeze every possible ounce of activity and productivity out of every minute. In Italy, it was interesting to see many shops and even restaurants close during the midday to give workers a couple of hours to rest. The Spanish call it a “siesta.” As I’ve written before, we Americans can become enslaved to the tyranny of the urgent.

At the same time, the Scriptures admonish us to “redeem the time for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). In other words, missed opportunities won’t return to give us a second shot at them. Sometimes this means working in earnest to meet an important deadline; sometimes it means savoring the opportunity to enjoy the company of loved ones and friends, even when speaking words isn’t necessary.

As Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to tear down and a time to build…a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain…a time to be silent and a time to speak….”

There’s one other time reference that immediately comes to mind when I consider the Scriptures. It’s when God gives us time to interact with others about eternal, spiritual truths. As Colossians 4:5 states, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Is there a moment when you can encourage another believer in his or her spiritual pilgrimage? Do it now. Do you encounter a non-believer who seems receptive to talking about Jesus? Speak with them now. 

And if God presents you with a situation where you can demonstrate His love and kindness to someone else, don’t hesitate: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers”(Galatians 6:10). Remember, time flies!

The Time of Your Life

We sometimes hear people exclaim, “I’m having the time of my life!” I’ve probably said that myself a time or two, but what does it really mean?

Figuratively it refers to having much enjoyment, maybe more than we can ever remember. But when have you heard someone say, “I’m not having the time of my life”? In reality, like it or not, “the time of our life” is now, this very moment. What happened even one second ago is already locked into the past, and we can’t live in the future – until it arrives in the present, at which time it ceases to be the future, strangely enough.

Not to get too philosophical, but time is important to all of us. And as we get older, we learn to value time even more since there’s more of it behind us and less of it ahead of us in this life. When we were children, time seemed to move at a snail’s pace, especially when awaiting a special event, like summer vacation or Christmas. Now it seems to pass at racetrack speed.

In the newspaper business, I found time often defined by deadlines: getting articles written, photos taken and pages designed on time for going to press. Time literally was money, with presses idling and well-paid pressmen poised to print the publication. So we all felt the pressure of time.

When I moved into the business world I was introduced to “time management,” which is a misnomer. We can’t manage time any more than we can manage the wind. Unlike saving money or storing food for a future emergency, time can’t be set aside for later consumption. Time comes and goes with relentless precision, one second, one minute, one hour at a time.

The Bible says there is a time for
everything.  Our challenge is to know
which time is right.

Although we can’t control or slow time’s passage, we can determine how our time is utilized. We can set priorities, determining which things must be done and distinguishing those from other things that might be nice to do, but aren’t essential. As Oswald Chambers would say, conceding “good is the enemy of the best.” Or distinguishing the important from the tyrannical urgent.

In our leisure hours we can read thought-provoking books, play challenging games, and engage in stimulating conversations. Or we can fritter away minutes and hours watching meaningless TV programming or listen to continual radio talk show chatter, our minds becoming sponges for media clutter. We can pursue a productive hobby, participate in regular exercise, and nurture our spiritual life. Or we can squander time by eating and drinking more than we need, sleeping more than we should, spending more than we ought, and procrastinating like champions.

We also can “manage time” by cherishing opportunities we have with loved ones, recognizing those can’t be reclaimed at some later date. I suspect when beloved friends and family members pass away, a part of our grieving is regret over “wouldas, shouldas and couldas” forever lost.

God, who created time, speaks of it a lot in the Scriptures. Psalm 90:12, for example, suggests we ask God to “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” If you knew today – or this week – were your last, would you continue with your plans for this day?

Ecclesiastes 3:1 declares, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Many of the things we purpose to do, those activities we spend much time planning, are good. But when’s the best time for pursuing them? And when should we stop doing some of the things that have been taking up too much of our time?

And Ephesians 5:16 speaks of “making the most of your time (redeeming it), because the days are evil.” Time, as they say, has a stealthy habit of slipping away when we’re not paying attention. Then we wish wistfully, “If only I had more time.”

Even in a clock, watch or calendar shop, we can’t purchase or acquire more time. But we can “manage” it by appreciating the time we have and utilizing it, better yet – investing it – in ways that will pay dividends both immediate and long-term.

We’re still early in the new year. It would be great if instead of bemoaning at year end, “Where has the time gone?” we could smile and think, “I know exactly where the time has gone. And I believe it’s been well-spent.” It’s good to stop and smell the roses, as long as we don’t become consumed by the weeds.