There’s No Time Like the Present
“I don’t have time for this!”
I gritted my teeth and barked at my 5-year-old. I was in a hurry to get somewhere and my son had forgotten his shoes in the house. He ran to get them and I fumed. As I pulled out of the driveway, the sentence I had barked haunted me, “I don’t have time for this!”
I don’t have time for this? I was a stay-at-home mom at the time. If I didn’t have time to care for my sons, what in the world did I have time for? That sentence began a work in my heart to change my orientation to time.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV)
Hurry has been a temptation in each season of my life. It is an unbidden tendency that can run in the background of just about any situation. Back then, it showed up in my negative talk about myself, and my too high expectations of myself and those around me.
It can be easy to find ourselves under the pressure of all we do for others. Sometimes, it’s not even that heroic. We are simply under the demands that we place on ourselves…demands that may or may not have anything to do with what others want or need.
My life has been one long lesson in patience, trust and grace. So…
What if I had a broader view of time?
What if I thought seasonally in addition to daily?
What if the time I was given was actually enough?
What if I could live at the pace of grace?
As I mentioned in my last post, all throughout nature we see the examples of process: cycles of life, death and renewal. We can have such a view of our own lives. Each of us moving beautifully through our own processes, giving grace to ourselves along the way. What if we allowed the seasons of our lives to ebb and flow? How might we move more graciously through our days?
A while back, a wise friend of mine shared, “Life does not come at me. It comes to me.” Shifting those two little prepositions can make a world of difference. Can I come out from under my own demands and enjoy the process? That question might have prevented me from barking at my son about his forgotten shoes all those years ago.
Life does not come at me. It comes to me.
Quite a few years ago I stumbled upon an invention called The Present. The hand of the clock takes one year to make its way in a complete circle. Just looking at the way the colors fade from one to the next helps me to take a deep breath. Since then, they have added another clock called Today. There are no numbers. Simply colors and one hand that moves around the dial in 24 hours.
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT)
With the images of The Present in mind (see pic above), let’s ponder a few questions…
How do the blending of color and season affect your perception of time?
How does this compare with your view of a traditional clock with numbers denoting hours?
How can this contrast help you with your inner pace?
As you give some thought to your own inner pace…
What do you notice?
What is the speed of your thoughts? Your heart?
Do you need to pick up the pace or slow it down?
Giving attention to our inner pace can open us up to a whole new level of grace…grace embraced and grace extended.
Spend just a few moments with Jesus in some silence. Linger in these questions with Him. Allow Him to show you what grace He may have for you.
Remember, life does not come at you, it comes to you. What will you do with your time today?
Peace to you as you seek to be more present today.
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