Time
can feel like an eternity depending on the circumstances in which you find
yourself. When engaging in a meaningful
conversation, you may lose track of time; but managing each second of
intensifying pain while waiting on your dental appointment can feel like an
eternity.
The
time between birthdays as a child can seem like forever; yet those same 365 days
seem to fly by in a flash after adulthood sets in. Today is my mother-in-law’s eightieth
birthday. The Bible teaches us to think
of time as short. Psalm 90:12 says Teach us to number our days, that we may
gain a heart of wisdom. A heart of
wisdom will say there is just enough time for me to fulfill the ministry that
God put me on this earth to do. Wisdom
is knowing that God has given me only enough time to do what He planned for me
to do. He won't waste a minute of my
life, but how many minutes do I waste not focusing on what this life is really
about?
Working through the grief of losing someone you love can
cause time to feel foreign. After almost
three months of living without our beloved husband and father, my children and I
agreed that it feels like eternity. This
experience causes me to be more mindful of time. Time passes whether if feels like an eternity
or merely a breath. It is all the
same. The time we have is all we
have. If we knew how much each of us had
exactly, it would probably cause us to waste it more. The Bible tells us that we should think of
time and feel the reality of its limits so that we live wisely. Accept that time offers limits and
opportunities. Be mindful of
time.
I
admire the way Brian’s parents experience time.
They too have become more mindful of time and have hearts of wisdom as
they spend the time God has given them on the earth. Though both of them have health challenges,
they have outlived many of their friends.
They spend their time in one another’s company looking for people with
whom they can share a slice of grapefruit or a friendly conversation. One way that they keep their hearts set on
wisdom as they number their days is the way they say goodbye to each day they
live. Together they sing the hymn What a Day that will Be. They sing every
verse. The chorus
goes:
What a day that will
be,
When my Jesus I shall
see,
And I look upon His
face,
The One who saved me by His
grace;
When He takes me by the
hand,
And leads me through the Promised
Land,
What a day, glorious day that will
be.
When
they finish their hymn, Brian’s dad says See you later alligator, and Brian’s mom
replies In a while crocodile. Then they go off to bed. It’s like a compline service saying goodbye
to the day that has passed.
The key to keeping time from becoming a chronic condition
to be endured is to see it as a prerequisite to eternity. When you get this reality down you begin to
live with a heart of wisdom and time becomes a gift from the giver of life who
has carefully marked out the time each one of us will be given on this
earth. The focus should not be on how
much time you have, but how you use the time you
have.
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