525,600 Minutes
In the musical Rent, there is a song that reminds the listeners that there are 525,600 minutes in each year. Recently, I heard that song performed as part of a middle school choir show, but my mind turned away from the musical and to the lyrics of another song.
It is a song we do not sing in worship as often as we once did, but the lyrics still resonate in my mind from time-to-time. The most poignant line of that song, in my opinion, asks the following profound question:
How are we using God’s golden moments?
“Into Our Hands,” Tillit S. Tedlie
As I put the thoughts of these two songs together, I started thinking about how I could accomplish so much good in just a tiny slice of those 525,600 minutes.
- In about 12 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have stopped into a hospital for a brief visit and prayer with a fellow Christian recovering from surgery.
- In about 2 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have typed a letter to mail to someone in prison.
- In about 5 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have walked a plate of leftovers to a neighbor going through a hard time.
- In 365 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have said a prayer with my child every single night of the year and given one more kiss on the cheek before they drifted off to sleep.
- In 3 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have welcomed a new neighbor with a gift card or box of cookies.
- In 1 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have texted or emailed someone who had visited our services, just to say “thank you” and to offer any assistance.
- In 30 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have visited a widow and enjoyed a glass of lemonade (probably homemade!).
- In 520 of those 525,600 minutes, I could have had a five-minute devotional with my family twice a week, every week of the year.
The list could go on, but you get the idea. When compared with such a seemingly large number–525,600–any one of those things just does not take much time at all. And, by the way, if you added all the things in that list up, you are still well under 1000 total minutes; less than 0.2% of the available minutes in each year!
Too often, though, in the moment, we are paralyzed by thinking we do not have time to do something. And, at certain times, we may not.
But, in reality, out of 525,600 minutes, can we not find even a slice of time that will provide those “golden moments” that really make the biggest difference?
How are you using them?
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
