The Time We Are Given

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how quickly time passes. It seems like just yesterday I was worrying about things that, looking back now, didn’t matter nearly as much as I thought they did. So many moments I wish I could go back and appreciate a little more. So many ordinary days that I didn’t realize were actually pretty special.

Then I came across this quote from J.R.R. Tolkien, and it really made me stop and think:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

I think about those words sometimes, especially when life gets a little quiet and I find myself looking back on the years that have passed.

We spend so much of our lives worrying about yesterday, wondering what we could have done differently, or thinking about tomorrow and what it might bring. We get caught up in things we cannot change and things we cannot control.

But what about today?

What about the time we have right now?

Maybe the greatest gift we have been given isn’t the promise of tomorrow, but the opportunity to make something meaningful out of this very moment.

It doesn’t have to be something extraordinary. Maybe it’s calling an old friend just to see how they’re doing. Maybe it’s sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee, watching the morning come alive. Maybe it’s taking a moment to appreciate the people who love us, the lessons we’ve learned, and the simple fact that we are still here.

I’ve come to believe that life isn’t measured by how many years we have lived, but by what we do with the moments that make up those years.

We can’t go back and rewrite yesterday. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. But we can choose to be kinder today. We can choose to forgive. We can choose to love a little more, worry a little less, and appreciate the small things that are so easily overlooked.

And perhaps, when we look back someday, those little moments will turn out to have been the biggest ones of all.

So, here’s something to ponder today:

If all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us, what will you do with your time today?

Make it count. ❤️