A waste of Time....

As I sit in my room writing this blog the following things are tasks or objectives I have coming at me:
My room is a mess. I have a 10 page paper due in a week that I have barely started on. Bills are due. I need to go grocery shopping and do my laundry. Clean out my car. Study for a test that I have in less than a week. Practice my guitar for class. Get ready for finals. Plan what exactly I will be doing and won't be able to do for thanksgiving week. Plan for a retreat that I'm speaking at in a little over a month. Plan for another retreat that I'm hosting in two months. Drop a few pounds for health and sanity. Finish the reading for a class I go to on Tuesday nights. Call my sister and tell her I probably won't be able to help her move. Call my niece and nephew and my parents. Catch up on some readings for classes. Find my DD Form 214. Register for classes. Write my Uncle and some other people, letters that I told myself I'd write. Open up to a friend that I haven't been completely honest with. Take a placement test for school. And the list goes on.
Why do I write all this? Well because instead of tackling at least some of that stuff today when I didn't really have to be somewhere; you want to know what I did? I sat in my room chatting on Facebook and watching Youtube videos. That is time well wasted. It's gone. I'll never get that time back. I'll never see it again. I'll never make it up. It's gone.
I think what spurred this thought on was watching a particular Youtube video. There was this drummer guy that was super talented. He's the kind of drummer I want to be like I guess. He is GOOD people! His drumming is the kind that leaves you speechless because of how good it is. As I was watching him drum I thought to myself, "man I wish I could drum like that!!" I even prayed. I don't quite remember what I said but I think the attitude of my heart was, "God why can't I use the talents you've given me to get ahead and support myself. Later on as I was watching more of his instructional videos I realized that the stuff wasn't that difficult and that i COULD do it. I could do lots of things. I could do most of if not all of the things on the list and more. But I haven't because I waste time. I'm not graduated from college because I waste time. I don't have a clean room or clean clothes because I waste time. I'm not under 200lbs because I waste time. I can't afford to go to TN for thanksgiving or Philly because I waste time. I don't know Italian, Chinese, Spanish, French because I waste time. My research paper isn't close to being finished because I've wasted time. I'm not where I want and perhaps should be because I waste soo much time.
As I was thinking about this while watching the Youtube video I began to think of all my talents. I'm not being arrogant or anything but I have a lot of talents. I can play multiple instruments. I love public speaking. I'm funny. I am a people person. I'm intelligent. I like to act and preach. I lead worship. I am certified to drive a school bus. I can teach and encourage. I can supply things that people demand. I've got all this going for me and yet nothing to show for it. I'm doing exactly what the man with one talent did in Matt 25:14-30 was doing. I'm not exactly burying my talents in a hole but I'm not exactly multiplying the talents given to me.
The saying goes, " To whom much is given, much is required." I realize that I've been given much and much has been required. But I neither done much with what's been given or with what's been required. Although that's not completely true because I've done a lot, I haven't done enough.
I use to get that comment on my report card a lot. The one that says that I don't use my time wisely. That was back when I was in school. Nearly 10yrs ago. Looks like I haven't mastered that lesson yet. Hopefully this recognition, which I now realize is God's answer to what I prayed earlier, will set me on the path of using the my time, talent, and tenure on this earth wisely. With a sense of purpose. So that 10 years from now I'm not trying to learn the same lesson with a family, or a ministry I preside over. Sheesh!!!