There is coming a day when time will no longer be an issue. Seconds, minutes, days, or years will no longer exist we will just be. Until then we are bound by the confines of time and it’s effect on us. Time is something we worry about often. I know this is true because there are so many sayings relating to time. Things like: time waits for no man, time flies (or in Latin – tempus fugit), take your time, it’s about time, or time is ticking away -tick- tick – ticking away (sorry DC Talk moment). There are so many more I could choose from but you get my point, time is something we all have to deal with.
As a child and teen time seemed to drag on except maybe summer. The older I get the faster time seems to move. I know scientists would say that time is a constant and that may be true but it sure looks different from it used to. I mean it seem just like yesterday Christy was staring to walk and in a month she will be old enough to drive. It feels like I blinked and Jessica went from the hospital being born to starting middle school next year. The effects of time are catching up to me quicker too. I look in the mirror and can see what time is doing (gravity too but that’s a whole other post). I do not feel like I am getting much older but time reminds me I am. I tried to play basketball a little while ago. I knew I was not in the best shape but my mind told me I could still play like I used to. Christy took a picture of me trying to play like back in the day just in case I get the idea to attempt another basketball comeback. I mean in my mind I was six feet off the floor, flying to basket to block the shot. The reality was not near as pretty…. I was about six inches in the air and looked like a crab someone had tossed toward the basket. Time has stolen my youth.
Another saying is that time heals all wounds. In some respects this is true but just because a wound is healed it does not mean it is gone, scars often remain. Today is one of those scars. Seven years ago Kaitlin headed off to school, running late thanks to a long shower. There was not much time for morning conversation beyond a quick “I love you” as she headed out the door. She spent the day going to classes then showed her school spirit at the afternoon pep rally. Never once did I give a thought to the fragility of time that day and I would bet Kaitlin did not either. I mean the Sunday prior her Sunday school teacher asked a question we often use to drive the point home of not waiting to accept Christ, “If you were to die before we meet next Sunday, would you go to heaven?” A question Kaitlin enthusiastically answered, “YES!!” Never in a million years did we entertain the idea this would be put to the test. As she left school December 7, 2007, Kaitlin slipped the confines of time and met her Savior as her car left the road and collided with a tree.
Time has continued on for us, it did not stop to exist that day. God has brought us through so much. The wound is healed but the scar does remain and sometimes it is still tender but God is ever-present. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We know the truth and reality of these words. It seems fitting the seventh anniversary is on a Sunday (seven is the number of perfection/God’s number in the Bible). We will take time today to worship God, not because He has been there for us but because He IS. We will also take time to remember Kaitlin. There will probably be moments of tears (I am a big baby) and for sure moments of laughter. No matter what happens today time will march on and that is a good thing. Ecclesiastes tells us there is “A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance.”[Ecc3.4-5] – so that is what we will do.
Time has its advantages too you know. It allows us opportunities to love, to make amends for wrongs, to do good and most importantly to reach the lost for Christ. This life is but a shadow of what is to come that is true but what an amazing shadow it can be. If there is one saying I would leave you with it is this – use your time wisely. We can get so caught up in doing we forget to enjoy all God has given us. Take time to remember the past but do not live in regret. Take time to plan for the future but do not forget to live in the present. Hit the pause button long enough to let those you love know it. We are looking forward to the day we will see Jesus and those who have gone on before but until then we will live like there is no tomorrow. I do not mean a reckless life but a life that cherishes every opportunity – “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – “[Ecc3.1] It’s about time…..
Thermogenesis 