Wasted

I don't wanna' spend my life jaded
Waitin' to wake up one day and find
That I've let all these years go by
Wasted
(Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts, "Wasted")
For the past few weeks, the way that I choose to use my time has been on my mind a lot. Then, a couple of weeks ago, my Relief Society President gave a lesson on how we use our agency. It really made me think about what I'm using my agency to accomplish in my life. As I thought about it, I realized that I've wasted a lot of time during the past year on things that aren't really integral to my life or my family life. As I thought about this, I remembered an oft-quoted line from Sheri Dew's talk "Women of God":

We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ...With these privileges comes great responsibility, and at times the demands of discipleship are heavy.
I want to spend my time on things that will bring me and my family to Christ. I want to create a spirit in my home that people can feel just by entering. I want to know that what I'm doing with my life is going to positively influence my husband, my kids, and myself for eternity. And, I know I can't do these things if I'm wasting my time on empty conversations, meaningless computer games, noisy television drivel, or other random distractions. Of course, giving up some of these things is a challenge, which in a sense makes them "heavy" like Sis. Dew said. But, I feel that the privileges that come as a result are more than worth the sacrifice.

Please understand that by saying this, I'm not saying every single thing we do has to have a planned purpose or be totally church-i-fied. I'm just tired of filling my life with "white bread" activities (lacking nutrition, empty), when there are so many other "whole wheat" activities, (full of substance, wholesome), I want to participate in instead.

I'm so grateful that I have the knowledge that "[t]his life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors" (Alma 34:32). I hope that by trying to perform more meaningful labors in this life, I will be prepared to meet God when the time comes. I just hope I can start making up for wasted time.