Time

"I don't have time."

It's but a phrase, four words, one that we throw around without a second thought. I can't tell you how often these words come out of my mouth in one week, even in one day.

My mom was shocked when she came to visit a few weeks ago, and got a glimpse of what my day-to-day life is really like. This isn't a 'feel bad for Rachael' post or 'look how great she is because she can do so many things.' This is actually a post to show you that I'm human, and a struggling one at that, and that I had a HUGE eye opener today.

Day to day for me right now consists of waking up, taking care of my dogs, eating on the go, working out, working, working, working, taking care of my dogs and going to sleep. Some days I get to talk to Michael on the phone, other days it's just texting. I think I hang out with my friends maybe 1-2x per month. I see my family, at most, twice per year.

In the profession and lifestyle that I have chosen, I really don't have time for anything else, unless I take out sleep, which is, of course, like any other hard working individual, the first thing that goes. The funniest part about all of this, is that I constantly get the words, "I don't have time," from my clientele when they are coming up with the reasons that they can't work out on a daily basis, they can't cook healthy meals or they have to eat fast food.

My first response is always immediately, "You make time for the things that are a priority in your life."

Today, I got some terrible news. When I played ball in college, the softball team of course, hung out with the baseball team. We had baseball friends, and some girls, baseball boyfriends, but we had the love of the game in common which immediately bonded us for life. I received a text message from my best friend today, that immediately stopped me in my tracks...

Turns out, one of the baseball players we used to hang out with often was in a kayaking accident and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Sure, these things happen all the time, and it typically doesn't hit us until it's someone close to us. But, can you imagine? One day, you're a phenomenal athlete, a known hero for your athletic feats in your hometown, recently married and celebrating a one month old son, and the next day, you may never walk again? The effect on not only him, but his family has to be devastating.

And here I am, without any time. My priorities? Working, working and working out. I've been away from my family for years in order to set myself up for success to later on, be able to choose anywhere I want to work to be near to them. But the truth is, none of us have any time. 

Life really is short. It's just something to think about....we can't buy time. And I'm not saying you shouldn't be a hard worker. Work and regiment and discipline are important parts of life. But, where do we draw the line?

We can wake up earlier. We can go to sleep later. We can give up one activity for another, but no matter what, we can never buy more and we can't get any of it back. And it's not just about my time, but what about my Grandmother's time, my parents time, my sibling's time, my boyfriend's and my friend's time? Every single one of us has a different timeline. The greatest gift any of us give anybody is our time. This greatly makes me re-evaluate not only who and what I give my time to, but also the gratitude I should give to those who give me their time.

My prayers go out to Matt Helm and his family. If you are interested in helping them, please visit their site: http://www.hopeforhelm.com/