Quality over Quantity | The Community
The Anglican Church of Canada home page
Sites at the Anglican Church of CanadaFind a ChurchFrequently Asked QuestionsStaff Listing

Quality over Quantity

"Newgate Clocks" Some rights reserved (CC BY-NC 2.0) by John Keogh. Sourced from FlickrLast Tuesday, I spent the day with a young gentleman. And I do mean young – he turns 5 today. He is my godson, the son of my longest friend; he is the centre of my heart. He is also, however, a citizen of a different province. Getting together requires planning and flexibility, as well as travel by plane and car.

So, as I had one day between meetings last week, and was within driving distance, I set out to spend the day with him. What a day we had! We played with his toys, he sang me some of his favourite music, we read books, we played at the park, he showed me his school (*everything* at his school – “Look Auntie, the carpet!”) It was a great, full, intentional day.

The intentionality of it makes the point. It was a high-quality day. And while they don’t happen nearly often enough, it was great. After bedtime, I had some good quality time with his parents, too. There was hockey talk and Scrabble and much laughter.

The next day, of course, I was back into meetings, and then flying back to Manitoba. But I did it with an extra grin on my face.

The time I spend with my godson and family is never enough – but we appreciate every moment of it. We make the most out of every moment of it. Sure, there are photos and video messages and FaceTime, but that intentional face to face time is so important.

It’s important because it helps support the relationship, to provide aspects I just can’t get online. A kiss blown to the screen is great, but the hug in person is better. The giggle warms my heart, to hear it when he’s holding my hand is such a gift.

Our time with loved ones needs to be intentional, even if it is a short time.  It’s about the quality of the time, even when the quantity is lacking. I think our time with God should be equally intentional. Even if we’re only intentional about our faith nurture for an hour on Sundays, that can be more than taking the time less seriously, with less appreciation.

How we decide to spend our time tells an awful lot about us; if we’re playing games on our smartphones during church (yes, I’ve seen that!) then we’re not really being present to the movement of the Spirit. If our minds are forming a mental grocery list during prayer time, we’re not really engaged, no matter how long we’re sitting there.

Keeping ourselves focused on what’s important, be it with God or with family, can be difficult – there are always distractions, always something else we could be doing, always some temptation to try multi-tasking (which very seldom effective!). So our challenge becomes to make sure that our time is intentional, that it demonstrates our priorities. What time we have is never enough; let’s at least use it wisely and show the world where our hearts are.

About Laura Marie Piotrowicz

I'm a high-energy priest, now serving in the Diocese of Niagara, catching glimpses of the kingdom in daily life. I consider church to be a verb, and I'm passionate about prayer, eco-theology, and social justice. I love travel, reading, canoeing, camping, gardening and cooking, playing with my dogs, and drinking good coffee. http://everydaychristianityblog.blogspot.ca
This entry was posted in Everyday Christianity and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to "Quality over Quantity"