Time is a curious a thing. It plays with us through minutes, hours and days. It moves slowly, yet there is never enough. It marches forward with no limits. Except when it comes to man, there is always a limit. We don’t like to think about it, but time on earth is not forever. Not for us.
But like with everything in my life—time has taught me a lot of lessons lately. Time has forced me to stare him in the eye and evaluate. Time has called my number and wants to see how I will respond to his challenge.
I was recently given the gift of time and I admittedly didn’t know what to do with it. Sure my to-do list was a mile high. Yes, I had longed for days when I didn’t have to be somewhere nine hours a day, five days a week, but the sudden freedom was a little strange. I have adjusted quite well to this extra time (oh how I’ve missed sleeping in), but it got me wondering what do I really spend those precious hours doing each week?
And while I was given time, time was taken away from others. My grandfather after a long life of working hard, went from a retired lifestyle of playing his steel guitar and digging up potatoes in the garden and watching old movies to a life spent in the hospital. Day after day, he is still undergoing a long and hard recovery after pancreatic cancer surgery. I bet he would give anything for a couple of free hours to do what he wanted.
And then this week, time stole from me as I said a bitter sweet goodbye to a very special friend. We are convinced life will bring us back together, but all the same she will be a good 654 miles away instead of twenty minutes down the road. I am thrilled that life is taking her on this new adventure, but I wonder about the time we lost thinking we had forever.
And while we can’t change the things that go on around us in our life, we can control the time we put into things.
I had a college professor in a journalism class give us an interesting assignment one time. She made us log every text message, every minute spent watching TV or spent online, every second listening to music and any part of our day that had to do with media consumption. It was to show us how much time we spent on media and technology, but I couldn’t help but think it was more of a look in the mirror at how much time we waste. I love technology when it is used in the right way, but I’m an old fashioned soul and I think our generation is losing the art of appreciating time among a lot of other social graces.
What ever happened to a face to face conversation? What happened to going and doing some good and actually having something to post about that means something? What happened to lending a hand and serving others and making our time really count? What are we as a generation, as a people, as humanity, doing with our time to make the world a better place?
I know this one is long, but I leave you with these words that the legend himself, Paul Bear Bryant carried in his wallet.
“This is the beginning of a new day; God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is very important. Because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. Leaving something in its place I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss – good not evil. Success, not failure in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.”
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Time is not just a magazine. –Only Hope
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