Have you ever had a free day but didn’t feel free to do nothing? 

There is something about a free day that screams, “Do something!” but if you do nothing, you feel like you wasted it. 

Today is one of those days for me. Lily is out of town, it’s my day off and I don’t have anything I have to do. 

When I was in my teens, a free day meant I would sleep in until at least 11 am. You see, I would prepare for my free day by staying up really late the night before. So naturally, I would be comatose when the morning came around. 

Now a day off comes mostly with responsibilities or tasks that should be addressed. 

I don’t think I ever have a time when there isn’t something I should do. I may not have to do anything particular that day but I should get something done.

Today is one of those days. I don’t even have Lily around encouraging me to do this or that. Her voice is not in the background suggesting I get moving on some project. She’s not suggesting that I accompany her to the store. She’s not here to tell me it’s a good time to get the Christmas lights up. 

… And what is it with Christmas lights now? People start putting them up the moment Hallowe’en is over. It’s kind of like they share the same container and before they can put the Hallowe’en decorations away they have to unpack the Christmas lights. 

I saw a car the other day with a Christmas tree strapped to the roof. My first thought was, “How in the world is a real tree going to last until Christmas Day?” That has the makings of a fire written all over it. Those pine needles will be so dry that they will make good kindling for even those low-powered LED mini-lights. 

But I digress. 

I have this free day and find myself unmotivated to do anything. I did play hockey in the morning but that doesn’t count since it is a regularly scheduled event on my calendar. 

When I think really hard, there are three things that I should do today – writing this blog is one of them. 

But I don’t feel like doing anything. 

If I sat down and thought about it, I could put eight or nine things on a to-do list, but I don’t even want to make that list. It will put pressure on me to do something, and then if I don’t work on that list, the day will be a failure. 

No, a free day should be free – free to flow as it unwinds, free to be lost in whatever you are doing, free to not think of anything but the present. 

I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. 

Maybe it’s been building. I don’t think I’ve had a day in a long time where I didn’t have responsibilities to deal with. 

… Well, it looks like I just did something. I wrote this post. 

Here’s the thing: There is not a lot in life that is free, but God did give us free choice. We can choose to love Him or not. It is up to us. Choose wisely because that one choice also determines your eternity.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do with a free day? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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