Time is a funny thing. It can be measured in so many
different ways, by so many different yardsticks.
Three years ago this week, we moved into our Blue Springs
home. (We commuted a few weeks while
waiting for our house to sell.) However, I’m now in my 4th year of
ministry in Blue Springs, which means that I’m busily planning my 4th
Christmas Eve here. So it either feels like 3 years in terms of house or 4
years in terms of ministry. Either way,
life before Blue Springs seems long, long ago.
A year ago, my father was coming to the end of his life on
earth. I am surprised at how much I am
feeling this anniversary, and how much I am reliving last year’s events. Each day has a mental marker for me- the day
Dad went into the hospital but we thought he’d get better; the day we found out
he wouldn’t recover; the last day he was alert; the last day. I am surprised at
how immediate these feelings are, even a year later.
Two weeks ago, we got back from vacation. Lazy days on the beach seem like a distant
memory. My usual routine has settled itself back around me like a familiar bathrobe,
and it’s hard to remember what it was like to have days structured only by the
tide charts. I realize anew how blessed
I am to have days that are full of meaningful work and play.
I'm not thinking just about how I measure the past. The future seems
closer, too. The September events are
planned and underway. Ginger Avengers are busily recruiting for October’s JDRF
walk. Christmas Eve is largely planned,
and I’ve even been working on my Christmas Eve sermon. (After all, I’m pretty sure I know the story
line for that evening’s Scripture.)
Time moves at an entirely different pace for a young child
starting school. The fifteen minutes of
homework feels like an eternity, and the weekend seems forever away. Completing this grade level and advancing to
the next grade is unimaginable.
This week in worship, I spoke about Ecclesiastes, the familiar
place which says, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every
purpose under heaven.” Time itself is
the locus of God’s work among us. No matter
at what speed our clocks move or what season of life that we find ourselves, God
is present and bringing about purpose and meaning.
