I have often felt like time has slipped through my fingers; too often. Wether this feeling has come from losing track of time while on the internet (“I’ll just take a look at a few things….”) or lost in a book (“One more chapter….”), I can get to the end of the day and wonder what did I do all day? Of course, I fed my children, laundry is done and my house is relatively clean but I suspect I probably waste more time than I use.
This feeling of lost time can sometimes overwhelm me as Satan can easily use it to make me feel just awful; that God is disappointed in me and I’ve let Him down – again. However, these feelings are NOT true. Even if I am accurate in how much time I waste, God’s love for me remains. While some adjustments might be needed to be made in how I manage my time, God’s love for me is constant.
But, I have often wondered if, because God is outside of time and space, He could ‘do something’ about use of the time and space He has given me? If that were possible, I would have a weapon to use when Satan fills my head with feelings of failure. And I just discovered, happily discovered, the answer to that question is: YES!
Check out this article from Aleteia: Redeeming Time
To quote the article by Philip Kosloski:
“St. Teresa of Avila composed a beautiful prayer on this topic, imploring God to transform that time from “loss to gain.” If you are feeling particularly down about the past, pray this prayer and trust that God can bring about a greater good from whatever time was wasted.
O my God! Source of all mercy!
I acknowledge Your sovereign power.
While recalling the wasted years that are past,
I believe that You, Lord,
can in an instant turn this loss to gain.
Miserable as I am,
yet I firmly believe that You can do all things.
Please restore to me the time lost,
giving me Your grace,
both now and in the future,
that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.”
Amen
I’ll be using some of the valuable time God has given me to memorize this prayer as a way to fight back against Satan’s attempts to shame me for lost time. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has redeemed all things (Rev. 21:5) – me, you and, yes, even time!
