Hectic days, Busy Nights

Something I heard the other day reminded me about the busyness of this season (not that I needed a reminder). In fact, we are fast approaching that one special day that only comes once a year—winter solstice. The day when the northern hemisphere has the least daylight and enjoys the longest night’s rest for those who are willing to adjust to the sun’s schedule.

You’re probably wondering how the December solstice relates to busyness. In the Gospel of John, chapter 11, verse 9, Jesus asks, “Aren’t there twelve hours in each day?” Jesus was making a different point, but His question got me thinking.

You see, at this time in history, people considered a day to be the span of daylight, which changed a bit from season to season. A day would be divided into 12 equal segments.

But when I consider schedules, I’m thinking 24 hours, some of which gets allocated for rest. What would happen if I shifted my perspective to how the world in Jesus’ time thought, that is, that there are 12 hours in a day to accomplish things? Obviously, I’d have to do some major cutting. But it would also put more margin and downtime in my life if I only worked when the sun was up. And that could result in less stress, better quality rest, and closer relationships.

It’s probably not a realistic option in our “light up the dark” world. But it does encourage me to consider adding margin into my schedule. After all, if first century peoples who didn’t even have computers to help them with their work could do it, maybe I can too.