The Truth About Time

No one has enough time.  The working mother, the homeschooling mother, the professional father, the farmer, even those who are single.  Work, family, community and our own mortality steal our time.  And seconds do not return.  Once spent, you can't get a refund.  There is no money back guarantee.  Time just keeps ticking on.

That fact CAN be comforting. When time seemingly drags by we can become so frustrated that our circumstance just endures and endures, but we know time's passage continues, and this trial will have an end. During labor, I had my husband count seconds for me during contractions.  I knew every second that went by was one I had mastered, one that brought me closer to seeing my child, and one that would not have to be repeated.  I knew that the only thing that would stop time was the Lord coming back, in which case all would immediately be well.

But time's continual passage can also be frustrating and scary.  Many of us have set goals to accomplish by a certain time.  As that times looms closer and even passes us by, and those goals are not accomplished,  we can start to panic.   We work faster and harder and become stressed.  Or we struggle with feelings of helplessness and failure.  When we are bombarded my too many responsibilities and not enough man power, we rail against time and it's steady, inevitable pace.  And when old age creeps up on us, we fight time tooth and nail, never willing to give in to it's degenerative effects on our bodies.

Sometimes we want to jump ahead. Sometimes we want to slow down.  Some people want more time, and some want less. But the truth of the matter is that we are creatures OF time....subject to, governed by, inextricably linked to time.  And we can't stop it, or rewind it, or fast forward it....we can just LIVE it.  THAT is what we should focus on...LIVING our time.  Not wasting time by complaining about our lack of it.  Not fighting against it in the hopes of somehow beating it back into a corner.  Not wishing it away.  Just living  our time.

We all lack time.  Let's just admit it and move on.  Old age is coming, unless we die young or the Lord returns.  Let's accept that.  And all bad things, even time, will eventually have an end.  Let's be comforted by that.  Let's use our time wisely.  I know it is easier said than done, but isn't everything worthwhile hard?  How can we USE our time, instead of losing our time?  Over the next few days, this is a question I hope to explore here....using time as a tool, instead of fighting time like an enemy.