"You probably can't. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.
"Yet, all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.
"Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour.
"And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
"A fear of time running out" (Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper).
The band Chicago came out with a song in the late '60s titled "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" Growing up on Chicago (yes, I was an old soul), I would sing this song as a teenager, but I had no idea what they were really talking about. After all, who grasps time at an age when it seems like an excessive commodity to rush through?
But this song talks about the sad state of affairs: as we rush through our "urgent" business, how do we even have time for the stuff that matters ("time to cry?" "time to die?")? And this song was written over 45 years ago!
This verse keeps cropping up lately and has become my theme for the summer:
"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)
I want to live intentionally, not throwing away time on worthless endeavors, putting the sand before the rocks (watch this video to see what I mean).
Being a task-driven, type-A, recovering list maker, I often put the sand before the larger, more significant parts of life. With three children, I'm awakening to a different way of doing life, but it's a slow process of discovery and I'm thankful that God's Spirit continues to remind me and prompt me toward the eternal, the significant, the beautiful.
15"Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16
We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.Hebrews 3:12-15
Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time.
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