Time: Knowing the pace you can move at

Gen 33:13 Jacob answered, "You know that the children are weak, and I must think of the sheep and livestock with their young. If they are driven hard for even one day, the whole herd will die.
Gen 33:14 Please go on ahead of me, and I will follow slowly, going as fast as I can with the livestock and the children until I catch up with you in Edom."

"Faster! Faster!" The demand to do more, seems to shout louder and louder the more we do, the faster we do it. We burn our resources faster than what we can generate more, and then we try to work harder to generate more resources faster.

Jacob showed some wisdom from which a lot of us can learn, when he said, " I will follow slowly, going as fast as I can."

Have you taken the time to learn how fast you can go? We need to learn to align our activities with our design, and pace ourselves so that we continually replenish our strength, lest we drive ourselves to death!

But he displayed even more wisdom than this rare self-knowledge: "... as fast as I can with the livestock and the children ." and ". the children are weak ."

As a parent and friend, take the time to learn to know the inner resources of your family. and those around you. As a leader, don't drive your "children and sheep and livestock" as hard as you can. Jacob knew that, "If they are driven hard for even one day, the whole herd will die." It sometimes takes just one day of your chasing after your material dreams, to kill the relationships in your home.

How often do people say: "But I'm doing it for my family?"

Are you really?

One of my students recently told this little story as part of her speech during an oral exam:

A young boy came up to his father, who was about to leave for work.

"Dad," the young boy said, "how much do you make per hour?"

"Two hundred dollars," the dad answered.

"Could you give me five dollars?" the boy asked.

"Five dollars? I gave you ten dollars yesterday, and two dollars the day
before. I've been giving you money almost every day, this month. What do
you do with all the money?" The dad asked with an irritated voice. He
looked at his watch. He needed to leave for an important meeting.

"Please dad."

Somewhat annoyed, the dad took out his wallet, and gave the boy the five
dollars, thinking that some time he must find out what his kid is doing with
the money. But not now. He was running late.

A few hours later, he walked out of the meeting.

"Any messages?" he asked his secretary.

"Here they are sir," she said. "arranged by priority."

He took the folder, and sat down at his desk. As he read the first message,
tears slowly started rolling down his cheeks.

"Your son called. He said he had been saving for three months, and he now
has Two Hundred Dollars. He wants to know if he can buy an hour of your undivided
time. He also said that he had five dollars for the taxi to your office and
back, so you won't need to waste any of the hour, travelling."