On Tuesday our family drove 14 hours from Florida to Kentucky. As you can imagine – traveling with 7 kids in a van for an entire day can be very tiring. Between all the bathroom breaks, filling up for gas, & stopping to eat – it was the day that would never end.

The twins asked the timeless question at least 100 times– “Are we there yet”? But my conversations with Gabriel were a little more interesting.

Gabe: How much longer?

Me: 7 hours

Gabe: So how many 1-hours is that?

Me: Well Gabe if you had 6hrs plus 1hr what would that be?

Gabe: That doesn’t even make sense. You can’t do that with time.

Me: What’s 6 dogs plus 1 dog?

Gabe: 7 dogs

Me: What’s 6 hours plus 1 hour?

Gabe: That just doesn’t make sense. You cannot do that with hours.

A little time passes…..

Gabe: So how many 1-hours are in 7 hours?

Me: There are 7 1-hours in 7 hours. So we have 7 more hours before we get there.

Gabe crosses his arms like he’s upset. A few minutes pass….

Gabe: So after an hour there will just be 6 1-hours left?

Me: Yep.

Gabe begins cheering!

Me: Why are you cheering? We still have 7 hours left like I said before.

Gabe: Yeah but that’s too much for me to think about. 7 hours seems like forever. But when we get through this one-hour – we only have 6 one-hours left. I just want to take it one-hour at a time. That’s easier for me to think about.

A few hours later….

Gabe: Now how many hours?

Me: We got 2 more hours!

Gabe: Woohoo!! In just one hour there will only be an hour left. We’re almost there.

**

Jose & I were pretty amused by Gabriel’s way of thinking. There’s a lot we could learn from that conversation.

We were driving all day Tuesday in order to be in KY for my dad’s heart cath on Wednesday morning. We needed to unpack, do laundry, and pack up again Wednesday afternoon so that we could head to Michigan on Thursday morning. I needed to purchase about a dozen or so plane tickets and since I was driving all day Tuesday my email box was very full.

When we pulled into the drive on Tuesday it was almost midnight. Although I was tired – seeing all the things I needed to do – I figured I would just stay up and get everything finished. When 2am came around I was beginning to get anxious.

I began thinking about Gabriel’s conversation. Thinking of all the things I needed to do was too overwhelming – just like thinking about 7 hours of traveling was too much for Gabe.

Even a 6 year-old knows that our minds can only take-in so much at one time. Our to-do lists can often fill an entire page – front & back. By thinking of the hours of work we still have left to do – we often rob ourselves of enjoying the hour we are currently experiencing.

We can be stressed-out  –  lose sleep –  give ourselves an ulcer – miss the moments we have with friends and family… OR we could simply take it hour by hour.

Ephesians 5:15-17 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.