A huge area for growth for me over the past year has been being on time to work.  For a while, I was flirting with the 8:10-8:15 arrival time instead of the 8:00 standard.  It’s not that I TRIED to be late, I just wasn’t putting a significant effort into being on time.  That, coupled with no real explanation of expectations in regards to arrival and departure times, left me floating with what I perceived as a flexible start time to the day.

For this year, I’ve made it a priority for me to not just be on time to work, but to be early.  When I was growing up, my mom used to tell me the following:

“To be early is to be on time.  To be on time is to be late.  To be late is unacceptable.”

With being on a time as a priority, I’ve seen a lot of success.  I’ve had to adjust my morning routine and pattern to accomodate for it, but it’s been worth it.  I no longer have the feelings of anxiety that come with rushing and trying to be on time, and gone is the sense of “flusteredness” that I feel after arriving to work late.  And, I’ve been able to get the close parking spots!

As I continue to think about what it means to be on time, I felt God tugging at my heart about the need to be better because I am a reflection of Him.  How can it be that I was made in the image of God, who I say is “on-time”, yet I’m always late?  But even better, how can I witness that I serve a God who is “on-time”, but always be late?

We are called to be ambassadors of Christ, and it’s difficult to do that if we fail to embody the qualities that we say He has.  My pastor says that if we don’t want people to see hypocrites, then we shouldn’t be one.  And while I am always committed to being an excellent represent of Christ, I am especially convicted of this in my workplace, where I am surrounded by so many who don’t believe.  Because I may be the only bible that someone sees, I need to make sure they aren’t lost or confused when they look at me.

So while my initial conviction was to be on time, I realize that the real conviction is to make sure that I’m the best representative of Christ to others and that I’m truly letting my light shine- even in the workplace.

Be encouraged!  Peace and Blessings!