And I do mean late since I’m writing this at ten o’clock at night instead of earlier in the day. Change is in the air, and stress is everywhere! I seldom use perfume, but today I slashed (yes, slashed) my wrists with much-needed soothing essential oil. The phone at the clinic is ringing and people are coming in–and we’ve been closed since last Friday.

Have you ever wondered why we sometimes tend to wait until the last minute to get things done? Whether it’s writing that blog–like me–or cleaning the house, picking up your medical records a month after you’ve received a letter from your doctor who is going out of business (that would be something I’d do), it’s so easy to let things slide.

Why? Because we’re all so barraged by so many THINGS in our lives that we don’t have time to slow down and prioritize. Me, I haven’t written a new novel in over a year–not since I became a very unwilling clinic director. I also haven’t attended church as often as I would like. Time gets away.

See this picture above? That’s Mel walking into our first clinic. I would show a final picture of Mel walking out of our last clinic, but he hasn’t walked out for the last time yet. That’s because time gets away. Already, he’s working in local ERs, but he’s working to help us clear out the building. Will we get out in time? Will we get to the next job in time?

Will we find movers in time, or will we even find a house to move into?

How about you? What’s still on your To-Do list? Will you have time for it all?

Something I discovered following a death in the family: rushing through life doesn’t help. In fact, it steals your time. Take a step back and think about your priority list. No, really. Don’t just consider it, do it. Take a deep breath and strike out some of those extraneous things on your To-Do list. Do they matter as much as you think? If you lost someone precious to you, how would those things stack up?

People are more important than lists, or things, or timing. Yes, we need to be responsible, but what does that mean? Perhaps it means showing how you feel about your loved ones and friends before time gets away. You’ll never regret that.