Life Lessons: Ten of Ten – The Time to Start Is Almost Always Now

November 5, 2025

I’ve reached the final installment of my ten-month series on life lessons. When I started this journey, I knew two things with certainty. First, I had to begin with God’s faithfulness because everything else flows from that foundation. Second, I wanted to end with something practical, something that would move us all from reflection into action.

Here’s the truth I keep coming back to: these life lessons only matter if I actually live them. It wouldn’t make much sense to spend ten months exploring what I’ve learned, only to file it away like an old photo album. These lessons need to shape how I live each day, and that means starting right now, not someday when conditions feel perfect.

Learning from the Hayfield

Let me tell you about someone who taught me this lesson without even realizing it. When I worked as a manager, one of my employees juggled a full-time job with running a sizable farm. Every summer during hay season, he would give us just a few days’ notice before taking time off. I understood the reality he faced.

Hay doesn’t wait for convenient schedules. The process of cutting, windrowing, and baling depends entirely on the weather. Too much moisture ruins the crop. Rain after cutting destroys it. He had to act when conditions were right, not when it fit neatly into anyone’s calendar. This is where we get that old saying about making hay while the sun shines, and it’s far more than just a quaint expression. It’s wisdom about recognizing the right moment and seizing it.

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The Urgency Jesus Taught

The Bible gives us an even more powerful example of this principle. In the Gospel of John, we find Jesus traveling with His disciples when they encounter a man who has been blind since birth. As Jesus prepares to heal him, He says something key to living life.

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4, NIV)

Think about what Jesus is saying here. He’s walking the earth with a divine mission, fully aware that His time is limited. He’s not talking about literal daylight. He’s talking about opportunity and about the small window we have to do what we’re called to do. Jesus knew He had work to accomplish before His earthly ministry ended, and He approached each day with that urgency.

The same reality applies to you and me. We have a limited time on this earth to make the most of our opportunities. There will come a day when we can no longer do the things God has prepared for us to do. That’s not meant to be morbid; it’s meant to be motivating. The question isn’t whether we’ll run out of time. The question is what we’ll do with the time we have.

Why Now Matters

This brings me directly to my tenth life lesson and why I’ve placed it here at the end. These life lessons I’ve shared don’t require perfect timing to be effective. They’re not like planting seeds that must wait for spring or harvesting crops that demand specific weather. These lessons work best when they’re lived consistently, woven into the fabric of daily life. And the best time to start weaving them in is now.

Let me be clear about what I mean by “now.” I’m not talking about someday when you feel more ready, more worthy, or more capable. I’m not talking about after you finish that project, resolve that conflict, or reach that milestone. I mean today, this moment, with all its imperfections and uncertainties.

The Ten Life Lessons

Let me gather all ten lessons here in one place so you can see the complete picture of what this journey has been about:

God is faithful. This is the foundation everything else rests upon. When we truly grasp God’s unchanging faithfulness, it transforms how we approach everything else in life.

My wife is my greatest earthly treasure. This lesson reminds me where to invest my time, attention, and heart in the relationships that matter most.

Wear an apron. This is about protecting ourselves from the stains of sin by staying closely in touch with God.

Eat the frog. This means tackling your hardest, most important task first thing, rather than procrastinating and letting it hang over your entire day.

Moderation is key. Life works best when we avoid extremes and find balance in how we approach work, rest, pleasure, and discipline.

Be who you are. Authenticity, being the person God designed you to be, matters more than pretending to be someone you’re not.

My job is to drive the boat. This lesson is about focusing on what I can actually control and letting go of what I cannot, all while standing firm in uncertain times, and trusting God with the outcomes.

Judging is my Achilles heel. We all have weaknesses that trip us up repeatedly, and recognizing mine helps me stay humble and dependent on God’s grace.

Live your purpose. God has given each of us unique gifts and callings, and we find our deepest fulfillment when we align our lives with that purpose.

The time to start is almost always now. Waiting for the perfect moment can sometimes mean waiting forever. The best time to begin living these truths is today.

Hope for the Journey

These lessons give me hope, real hope for living better than I have before. I’ve lived these lessons in my own imperfect way, stumbling through the learning process and sometimes failing to apply what I know. But that’s exactly why they’re valuable. They’re not theoretical ideals for perfect people. They’re practical wisdom for real people navigating real life.

My prayer is that even though you haven’t walked my exact path or faced my specific challenges, you’ll discover hope in these lessons, too. Perhaps one of them speaks directly to something you’re wrestling with right now. Perhaps several of them offer a new perspective on old struggles. Whatever resonates with you, I encourage you to start applying it today.

Remember Jesus’s words about working while it is still day. Remember my employee who couldn’t wait for convenient weather to harvest his hay. Remember that the opportunities before you today won’t wait indefinitely. The time to start is almost always now, and today is the now we’ve been given.