We received the following message from a friend and thought it was a wonderful “wake-up call” for us all — especially for those of us who are married. Even if you’ve seen the following material before, please take the time to read it again prayerfully—asking the Lord to speak to your heart that which He wants you to pay attention to. We’ll add some insights pertaining to marriage on this topic at the conclusion of this message.

IMAGINE:
Imagine there’s a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? DRAW OUT ALL OF IT, of course!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There’s no going back. There’s no drawing against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.

• To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

• To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.

• To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

• To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.

• To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

• To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special… special enough to spend your time.

And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. TODAY IS A GIFT— THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED THE PRESENT!

As we said before, this is a wake-up call for all of us. We need to make sure that we invest our time in that which will make a positive difference. As we’re told in the Bible: “Everything is permissible; but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible; but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

We all know couples where one spouse died suddenly—without warning. One minute they’re there; the next minute they’re gone. I (Steve) decided a number of years ago that if that were to ever happen to me (where Cindy were to die suddenly) I didn’t want to have regrets (The “if only”).

Today, I feel I can honestly say there’s nothing left unsaid or anything left undone. Cindy knows I love her, treasure her, and I make/take time for her.

Take a few minutes this week to assess your current time commitments. Is there something in your schedule that’s currently keeping you away from being with your spouse and children? If you were to cut that “item” out of your schedule, would the world come to a screeching halt? If not, you owe it to your spouse and yourself to modify your schedule’s so you won’t ever have to live with regrets.

And I (Cindy) want to add to this message: Pray together as a married couple, about the time you feel you need to make for each other so your marriage is vital, and healthy, and strong. Ask the Lord to show you if you need to reassess the time commitments you currently have planned out. Could they potentially steal time away from the family the Lord’s given you to love and care for? What we’ve learned from our own lives is: Just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should do it. Ask the Lord to give you His perspective on all of this.

Take the time (now) and choose to make the time to do something that speaks “love” to them. Do it “as unto the Lord” making the most of the “present” God has given you. Keep in mind the events that happened on September 11th. Not everyone who woke up that morning had the opportunity to express their love to their spouse “later.”

Our prayers are with you as together we work to make our marriages the best they can be—marriages that reflect the love of Christ. Our marriages are a living testimony to all who witness our lives together—that God is able to do that which is utterly amazing through those who are committed to Him and to each other.

Because of the great love of Christ,
Steve and Cindy Wright