T is for Time

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio 

Psalm 31

¹⁴ But I trust in you, 
O LORD;
   I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands; 

It is Saturday and much like I expected in my S post, I have chosen to sit... well at least for a while. I have had a wonderful morning of popping in on various A-Z bloggers and leaving little notes to encourage them on their journey to Z and as aspiring writers in various stages of that journey. I finally got hungry and had to go make something for breakfast. As I stood at the stove cooking my omelet the idea for T presented itself. 

T is for Time - My times are in your hands Oh Lord. Today you might think that time is a magazine, that I might pick up at my leisure to flip through its pages on some whim. There are days when I wish I could jump in the Tardis with the wonderful Dr Who and journey to various points in time and see what really happened or what might happen in the future. My kids and I love watching Dr. Who and my oldest often dresses and looks a wee bit like David Tennant. It has a science fiction, historical fiction kind of twist to it all that we all enjoy. 

Time is an interesting thing, when we are children it moves at a snails pace and as we grow older it races forward at an alarming pace. I've heard some interesting explanations of why as I have often longed to revisit a long an boring summer only to realize that while things slow down a bit in the summers now there is no going back to being a child with little or no responsibilities. Time marches on and none of us really know how many days are allotted to our journey called life may be. I have to admit that I struggle to wrap my mind around the idea of heaven being timeless.  Eternity is a bit to big for my little mind to grasp. 

I know for me -

I feel a responsibility to have at least tried to use the gift called time wisely. I try to have done something with my day to bless and encourage others. To leave some kind of footprints for others, who will follow behind me. I think it must be somehow hardwired into me, the idea of it being somehow very important that I leave a legacy that will speak to others beyond my time. Honestly I don't understand it but it compels me forward and urges me to not allow my days to become a mundane existence of mind numbing escapism or to become so busy in the pursuit of a pay check that I forget to stop and smell the roses.  

At age 50 I still think I have plenty of time but I know without taking purposeful steps to accomplish the things that I believe God has set before me to do, that those things will become dreams that vanish. I don't want to look back someday with a bunch of regrets for things I should have said or done. 

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.  ~C.S. Lewis

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.  ~Carl Sandburg

Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires.  ~Charles Caleb Colton

Time is an equal opportunity employer.  Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day.  Rich people can't buy more hours.  Scientists can't invent new minutes.  And you can't save time to spend it on another day.  Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving.  No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.  ~Denis Waitely

I think my favorite time quotes is this one shared by Kermit The Frog. "Time's fun when you're having flies."  I suppose there is some truth to that  - when you are enjoying the journey time is fun. When one can pass through a day without collecting regrets I suppose it is a day well lived. 


Ah but today - the sun is shining, which is currently a novel thing here in the Pacific North West and I can hear my bike saying - "come now is the time to ride". 


I am thankful that my times are in the hands of the Lord. He holds the future and the past. He knows what tomorrow will bring my way and so I will trust him with it and do my best to share with Him this moment and the next as I progress forward within the passage of time. 


Geesh .... I feel terribly eloquent and quote-able - quick before my head swells and I can't get out the door to ride my bike... I should end this post. Love you all - thanks for following along. Thank you for those who post comments - you bless me in ways you don't even begin to know - Thank you. I am always humbled to think that God would use my words to touch the hearts and lives of others. May you make the most of the time you have been given for His delight and glory.  


Prayer:
Dear Lord, 
Help us to value and use wisely the precious gift of time. Help us to not spend it in despondency, complacency, fear, depression, guilt, shame but to take those things to you, and allow you to help us find true peace in living life in your presence led by your Holy Spirit. We are unshackled by the power of your love, help us grasp and accept that you have fully paid for our sin. Let us live to know and love you more.