Pages

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Time Ain't On Our Side


Ever since I was a little kid, I have had a fixation on time. If I was at an amusement park, or some other fun place, I was always monitoring in the back of my mind how much time was left 'til we had to leave. I received my first wrist watch at four years old, and I have pretty much worn one ever since. I have a tan line under my watch if that tells you anything.

It works in reverse for me, too. I have always been that guy counting down days until Christmas, or summer vacation, or whatever. I usually keep good track of what has happened and what is about to happen.

There's one major draw back to this that I have found. I am rarely enjoying what is happening. Take the amusement park example: I was not taking in the sights, I was looking at my watch and calculating how much time was left. Or, the days 'til Christmas: Can any Christmas ever live up to the extraordinary hype? Usually not (except for the original).

I often miss a lot of life's enjoyment now because I am trying to "get" somewhere.

I got to thinking about this because of some cheesy movie I watched on the WB while I was sick this week. The title and plot are unimportant, but you'll recognize the cinematic sequence. Boy and girl fall for one another, and then you get to watch a five minute song. You know, the one where they picnic under a Fourth of July fireworks display, bike ride through a forest of fiery fall colors, and cuddle beneath the Christmas tree. I was getting sucked in to thinking that their lives were great, when I finally realized that 6 months of real life just passed in a musical montage.

Where were the scenes about their disagreements over whether they should see an action thriller or a romantic comedy at the movies? What about that time he broke their plans to go watch UFC with his buddies? Or how about when she gets "emotional" and just wants to be left alone with a half gallon of Edy's? Or what about the days when they wake up and just have to go to work, and nothing happens at all?

My point is, real life requires you to live every moment; the fun ones, the tough ones, the heart-wrenching ones, the mundane ones... all of them. And, sometimes I cannot stand that fact. I want to get to the good parts. The fun stuff. The mountaintop experiences.

But God, in His wisdom has ordained time. The only way we can redeem the mundane moments is to live them for Him. I Corinthians 10:31 says: "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." What could be more routine than eating or drinking? Most of us do this many times per day. We are commanded to give God glory in these times.

I will close with this. God alone is eternal. He is not bound by time at all. I am excited by the idea that we will enjoy eternity with Him one day. I believe that in Heaven there will be nothing mundane, ever. There will be no reason to look forward to the next moment because this one will be, well, Heavenly. Further, what is a moment in eternity?

But there I go again looking forward to the next thing instead of making the most of this moment. God grant me wisdom.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Yet another thing you'll be free of once we get to heaven honey.

The build up to the big things usually does end up in a let down. I think the funniest, most memorable things happen in-between. Like when your daughter does the "bendy-stick dance" while you're hurrying to get her ready for bed so you can watch your favorite show. You can't help but laugh even though she's wasting your time with her antics. Or when your son tells you how important it is for the U.S. to win the Olympics so our land doesn't get taken away by Canada while you're driving home from school/work in serious traffic. Sometimes the interruptions are the best parts of life.

Love you!

SandMan said...

Wise words... and I needed to hear them. Thank you, Dear. Hey, you should write a blog. You're better at this than me. I love you, too.

Post a Comment