Time’s a tricky beast, but unlike money in a 401k, it doesn’t accrue as the days go by. You use it or you lose it.

As a freelance writer, editor, creative marketing strategist and voice-over professional, I’ve been privileged to work in diverse environments, from corporate to agency settings, to my kitchen. For 13 years, I served as spokesperson for a series of health-related television commercials in the Nashville market….proof that internships can pay off. Most days, my office is my back porch.

When my sons were small, as fervently as one searches for bargains on cereal and socks and aspirin, I searched for those windows that offered a glimmer of hope as I built a new life for my young family. I latched onto that hope and shared it with my children so that they might catch a glimpse of my heart and know it as an infinite and boundless source of unwavering love, and a projection of their miraculous destiny.

Now, when life presents its challenges and I wonder why it seems so ridiculously complicated, I remember those early years with my boys and a brief few months of their little lives, and I remind myself that money cannot buy some treasures. Time, while fleeting, can serve as a reservoir for opportunity and hope. And sometimes, when changes come, the difference between hope and despair is simply a choice.