return[ed] on investment

The paper today predicted that the economy might begin to turn around by mid-year. More jobs, better home sales and a stable stock market will be the leading indicators.

I can hardly wait.

Because my financial portfolio has been sitting on idle for the last 6 months. No matter how many IRA contributions I make, the needle never heads north to the land of profit. My advisor tells me that everyone's in the same boat . . . except hedge fund managers.

This weekend, I experienced a parallel loss--the currency of time. I made five trips to three different home improvement stores. By Sunday afternoon, I had taken virtually everything I purchased back for a refund. I spent hours planning, searching aisles, choosing products, talking to sales people, standing in lines and driving across town only to end up right back where I started. In short, my return on investment was poor. Wasted time. No profit to show for my venture.

Ephesians 5:15-16 states "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." The writer understood the the currents of the time currency. If we're not careful, we're liable to lose our investment, whittling our days away with errands, busyness and inane activities that make for a shallow life-portfolio in the end. What if we were to only do the kinds of things that had eternal value: serving others, meeting the needs of the impoverished, reconciling relationships, practicing generosity, caring for widows and orphans, speaking the truth. To stand before God and know that my time yielded a profit that fulfilled God's purpose for my life and made Him famous along the way. No useless investments. No refunds. Time well-spent