Five minutes please

Five minutes is all it takes to make a big change. A change in attitude, a change in appearance, a change of heart, these can all be made in five minutes. A small amount of time to invest for a big reward don’t you think? Let’s talk about how we can use just five minutes.

Five minutes is only 300 seconds. It’s not very long. There are 288 sets of five minutes in each day. There are so many small opportunities every day! Five minutes can pass without a thought as you stand in the shower or load the kids in the car. Five minutes can also drag on and on as you wait for dinner to finish, or for your turn in the bathroom.

I had an epiphany the other day when I set the timer for my rolls in the oven for just 5 more minutes. I thought ‘dinner will be ready in five minutes, let me just tidy real quick until the timer goes off’ and I did… but I forgot the timer was on. I tidied the counter, started a load in the washer, and put away some Christmas decorations that had been sitting in the wrong place waiting for me to ‘have a chance’ to put them away. Then I came inside and sipped my coffee watching the kids play and the timer went off. In a way I was humbled, and in a way I was inspired. How many ‘five minutes’ have I missed because I didn’t think I had ‘five minutes’ of time to do something?

I began challenging myself, what if I spent just five minutes playing toys with the little girls? What if I spent just five minutes on the bathroom cleaning up? What if I just put things away in the pantry for only five minutes? What if I just stepped outside in the fresh air… just for 5 minutes? I was amazed at the little things that got done. I was amazed to see the little things becoming big things getting accomplished. I was amazed to see it affect my children, my attitude, and my view of each day in general.

Then a verse I had memorized years ago came to mind “See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) I had redeemed my day, five minutes at a time. I didn’t have to do some great thing, put on some big show of force, or conquer some great enemy. I had obeyed God in a small thing and was rewarded greatly.

I would like to challenge you to just set the timer for 5 minutes today. You may want to just sit and watch it go down to feel how long each set of five passes. You may want to start to tackle a big project. You may want to spend some time with your children dancing or being silly. However the Lord leads I feel you will also be blessed by redeeming even a meager five minutes.