As I was organizing my week and the rest of the month of May today, I recognized how differently I use time now than I did even ten years ago. I used to rarely say no to anything. When asked to do something or an opportunity opened up, I figured out how to squeeze one more thing into my already hectic schedule. It didn’t seem right to say no to something that would make a difference in someone’s life. If I did say no, I felt guilty about it for weeks. Now, I say no all the time; I think I say no more than yes. And I rarely feel guilty about it. For most of my ministry years, my biggest challenge was managing my time, trying to get as much squeezed into a week as possible. I don’t remember ever getting tired. If I did start feeling a little weary, I blew it off as a thinking problem and went even faster. Those days are gone.

Now, the challenge isn’t managing my time; it is managing my energy. I used to run out of time way before I ran out of energy, but now I run out of energy way before time. My goal is still to make the most of my time, but now I choose more carefully and thoughtfully what I will spend my time doing. I still have plenty of mental and emotional energy, but the physical gas tank has shrunk. So now, I pray more, read more, write more, teach more, talk more, and study more. All those require minimal physical energy, and I have enough left to go fishing or build Patty’s chicken house. I struggled for several years with this transition, but now I am very comfortable with this chapter in my life, and I expect that I will actually bear more fruit for God in my old years than when I had energy to burn. Managing my energy and saying no are new skills that I am getting better and better at.