I have always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. My favorite books and movies all center on the manipulation of time and space and what we, as humans, would do if we had autonomy over it.
As I grow older, time is something I never seem to have enough of, and I constantly wish for more. There never seems to be enough time to get laundry done, go grocery shopping, finish multiple projects and read all the books you want to read (because that, of course, is the highest on my priority list).
In actuality, as I get older, the highest thing on my priority list is quality time with my friends and loved ones. It is my “love language,” as they say. Time with my closest people is what fills me up and gives me the strength to do all those other things on the weekly task list.
My current goal, now that life is returning to an almost “pre-pandemic” state of busyness, is to try and retain some of that time that I so greatly miss. I am taking all the necessary steps in my life to get there. Of course, this requires some changes and shifts in priorities, but I feel that it is essential to make these changes for my health and well-being.
My sister’s wedding is just a few days away as I write this. She is getting married at our home parish of St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull where we went to school and received all our sacraments. I am looking forward to it with great anticipation. I know it will be a hectic day, but I am making it my goal to remain present and not get caught up in the schedule but rather enjoy every moment.
My most considerable excitement for the day, besides celebrating my sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law, is being able to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in a while and have everyone gathered together at once.
We tend to glorify busyness in our modern world, but I relish challenging that. Our worth isn’t defined by how busy we are; our value is defined in Christ. He created us all in His image, and in that, we can find peace.
I read something recently to the effect of “we shouldn’t save saying all the wonderful things about our loved ones for funerals; we should say them at birthdays and weddings and happy celebrations so that things never get left unsaid.” I loved this sentiment.
In light of the recent acts of violence in our country, this is even more pertinent. The time we have with our friends and loved ones is even more sacred. I don’t want to have to look back and wish I could time travel in order to say and do the things I wanted to, in order to tell the people I love how much they mean to me.
Jesus’ message was love, and I feel like we are losing sight of that. We need more love; we need more understanding, and we need more time. All we need to do is look to His example of how He treated and loved others and we have all the answers we need.
