You can’t put a price on time.

Yet we do.

We exchange out time for money. We work for 8 hours and get paid X dollars. We then take those dollars and spend it on STUFF. Trinkets and gadgets and the next best thing.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been excited about buying new stuff. Cyber Monday was my favorite day of the year. I thought I was getting the best deal I could get with the money I had. For What? A new Barbie house, or a pair of jeans? The latest video game console? Yes, for all those things, I spent hours researching the best deals, and then freely gave up the money my husband spent hours working for.

Was the Value of his money and the Value of his time being spent wisely? and if NOT, then what would make it valuable?

These are hard questions to answer, and everyone comes to a different conclusion.

It’s personal.

In order to truly answer this, you must take passion into consideration.

What are you passionate about?

Sometimes the answer tends to be your job. But is that what makes you? what if you lost your job? you became extremely ill and couldn’t preform it anymore? life has away of turning things upside down. Not that these are our reasons. But things happen. People cling so hard to Well my carrier is my life, that they lose track of time.

For those of us that have kids, time is even more precious.

I often meditate on “our days being numbered”. Now I don’t mean for fear to enter in, but rather for a burst of Life to explode inside of you.

It’s so easy when we have a doctor saying you only have X amount of time to live, go live it. Then and only then do we get our affairs in order, and go bucket list crazy.
Why do we wait so long? Why do we even allow it to get that bad before we stop?

In my short life span I have met many people that live like this. Work, Stress, eat poorly, because well work and stress, come home dazed and tired not wanting to interact with loved ones. Some resort to drinking others to drugs or tv, or isolation. Whatever addiction they have to escape from the harshness of this world. And then they wake up, God willing they are given another day, they wake up and do it all over again.

They insert weekend plans, and parties and oh la la events to make them feel as if those moments of connections are worth all the work and struggle during the week. They pretend to care about their kids day, while there child struggles in school, or cuts, or lies, or has secret sex. They miss out on 1st steps, or silly giggles, imagination and growth. They pass on the baton of parenting to the schools, or the after-schools, the sports teams, the ballet teacher, just fill in the blank.

I know many people that will go House/Stuff poor just to fill that need with their kids. We were one of them. Ready to buy our 2nd home in order to fulfill what we thought was the life.

I hope I am not coming across judgmental. My goal here is to only show you that there is more.  It sounds harsh, and I know I have strong opinions about homeschooling and staying home with your kiddos. But, that isn’t what I am getting at. Sometimes our hands are tied. Sometimes there are seasons were you must sit still and be patient. Ourselves included. When we realized we wanted to find adventure and live life intentionally, we had no idea what we were going to do or what that looked like. In fact we sat still for months before we figured out we were gonna buy a bus. And then even still time went on with us staying put before we put the metal to the road or the foot to the pedal so to speak. Even now as we cross country, uncertainties of the future can convolute the day. Yet, we press on and press in. Intentionally. We hug our kids hard, and spend time connecting. We enjoy the sunsets or sunrises if one so chooses to wake up that early, ehem, Not me, not yet.

When we can live life with intention, with purpose, with fore thought we can then begin to grasp the purpose of this life. The connections and relationship. The enjoyment of creation. The moments when the crisp wind or the warm sun can melt into you. When a hike can’t last long enough. When the tiniest bugs are the most beautiful things you have seen. Moments worth living for.

Pulling the plug and down sizing was the best thing for our family. I am still in the purge process and I imagine I will be for a while. Stuff isn’t as important as it use to be. And I’m okay with that.

Find your value in time, and I promise you, not that it will be easier but the weight that holds you down will slowly begin to dissipate. Press in, move forward have courage and take leaps.

Much Love from this wandering Mama.