Free Time

I heard a saying once that I think comes from the Philippines. It goes something like this, "The Westerners wear their gods on their wrists." Now, me being a Westerner should pause to think about this for a moment. Are they right? Well, their correctness probably depends on the person, but it seems to be at least somewhat true in my case. I am currently taking three classes from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a newly-wed, a Christian devoted to the weekly fellowship of believers, and a new employee of Chick-fil-A, which means in the near future I will probably add working out to my schedule. All of these things demand time, which seems to become more precious the busier my schedule gets; which leads me to the thought of "free" time. What is "free" time; and why don't I seem to have very much of it? Really, all time is "free" isn't it? It's just that some days we seem to have more of it than others. I think that in this age of technology time has become a precious commodity, but not just any kind of time; we long for "free" time; time that we can devote on us. As I write this I can't help but notice that the desire for this kind of time seems somewhat selfish, but it also seems necessary. I also cannot help but think that me adding a blog to my schedule is going to take, well, time. There are so many things that I want to do, so many books that I want to read, so many places that I want to see, but I just don't think that one lifetime, or life of time, is enough. After quite a bit of thought on this I have come to realize that it's okay if I don't see Rome, or read a library full of books. Maybe God has not given me enough time to do everything that I want to do for a reason. Maybe there is a reason that life seems so short in light of the endless amount of things that you could learn or experience. The problem is not our great desires; the problem is looking to fulfill those desires with this world, with things that are not infinite. We have an ocean of desires and try to fill it with teaspoons of water and it just seems overwhelming; sometimes discouraging. I confess that many times my horizon is far too low. I feel my longing for experience and I fail to raise my horizon to the only experiential Quencher. There is a purpose behind this never-ceasing wave of technology trying to drown us. It makes us long for more time; for "free" time. How am I going to spend it when I get it. Will the knowledge that life is short lead me to lift my horizon in search of a better way to spend my time? Will I use this precious time to join the work Christ, the Sovereign behind this situation, or will I continue to look at my surroundings and wish I had more time to cram it all in?