Time Is Not My Enemy

For so long, I have secretly fought mind wars against clocks and calendars, hoping to obliterate them altogether. This would, of course, make me a much happier and wealthier person. (I, alone, own three day planners). But my battles have become a long string of defeats, and as of late, I had given up on triumphing over time's omenous presence in this world. My thoughts were given over to numbering my hours and determining my days and pining for the quickness of them all. Years seem like eternity to me and months like years. Five months, alone, feels the longest length of time in history and just the sound of those two words together causes my heart to sink.

I am realizing, though, that time is not my enemy. Though it is often an obstacle to the present fulfillment of the things we hope for and the gratification of our desires, time can sometimes prove to be just what we needed. It goes without saying, too, that time is never as long as it seems to be. Nearly a month ago, I turned twenty-two and two weeks before that, graduated from college.

My prayers, of late, have been for perspective - especially in the area of time. Because of this, I have had a few interesting thoughts that give me hope that time and I will no longer stand at odds. When I think of all that happens in five months, I see how quickly things progress. In that amount of time, I will only*:

-do my laundry twenty times
-go to Sunday worship service twenty times
-pay rent five times
-go to the grocery store ten times
-celebrate three holidays
-pay my cell phone bill five times

I won't bore you with a list of other things I try to accomplish in a month, but these are the most significant for me. I have already paid rent twice and now almost a third time. Lauren and I were just talking about how it seems as though we just moved in. It goes to show that time is a lot less an opponent and more an ally - especially as God uses both of us for His purposes. What reason have I to fear time?

I wish to be a different person in five months, changed for the better. I hope to love more wholly, live more truly, and laugh much more than I ever thought possible. These are not lofty goals, I know, but the most simple and important of them all. I look forward to the next five months, especially as I mark off the days in each of my three day planners.



*These are, of course, averages based on prior patterns of performance.