07/17/2026
The Value of Time
When someone is dying, when we are preparing to say goodbye to someone we love, time begins to feel different. It becomes more tender. More fragile. More honest.
Even in the aging process, when we notice changes, and the slow shifting of what once was, time takes on a deeper meaning. We begin to understand that it was never something we owned… it was always something we were being given.
When my brother was dying, and I sat at his bedside, one of the things I kept saying was how sorry I was for wasting so much time. I wasted time being angry. I wasted time believing there would always be more time.
And I think many of us do that.
We put things off. We say, “one day.” We wait for the right moment, the right season, the right version of ourselves. We think there will be more time to say what needs to be said, to forgive, to begin again, to take the trip, to make the call, to become the person we always said we wanted to be.
But life and death teach us that time is not guaranteed.
Time is a gift.
It is something we give to others.
It is something others give to us.
It is something we ask for, offer, waste, protect, and sometimes regret.
I also think we forget that respecting someone’s time is a form of love. When we promise to show up for someone, whether it is for an event, a meeting, a visit, or as part of someone’s care team, our presence matters.
And how we arrive matters too. When we say we will be there at a certain time and then show up late without thought or apology, we are quietly saying that our time matters more than theirs.
We have to do better than that.
If we are running late, we can communicate that. If we make a promise, we should honor it. If someone is waiting for us, especially someone who is vulnerable, grieving, aging, or dying, we need to remember that their time is sacred too.
And when someone is sitting in front of us, sharing something important, maybe a memory, a worry, a dream, or even just the details of their day, we need to listen. Really listen. Because that moment will never come again.
Time asks us to pay attention.
To keep our promises.
To stop postponing our lives.
To honor the people in front of us.
To value not only our own time, but the time others are generous enough to share with us.
Because one day, we may look back and realize that what seemed ordinary was actually precious. And we will wish we had treated it that way sooner.
When we honor someone else’s time, we are honoring them.
xo
Gabby
www.thehospiceheart.net
