I remember the childhood game of
Statue. Players were supposed to “freeze” in whatever position
they were in when the word “Statue!” was shouted.
Sometimes I've felt the urge to seize
a significant moment and hug it tightly, nail it down so it couldn’t
get away. I want it to last forever. It might have been a particular
period of my life or some enjoyable experience. If only I could
freeze time at some ideal age or permanently capture an especially
happy moment without any changes in my present family situation, my
strength, or my health.
As years slip by, some people are
eager to slow their pace and spend the rest of their days in a
leisurely manner just “cruising down the river on a Sunday
afternoon,” as the sentimental song of bygone days would have it.
Others are obsessed with running still faster from a sense that time
is chasing them. Where’s the balance?
In our early years we struggle to
fulfill ourselves through education, jobs, careers, possibly in
marriage and family relationships. Our talents and skills and the
approval of others impel us to run toward those goals. And we usually
have enough energy to do so. Time seems to be on our side. We rarely
give its earthly termination a thought—obviously we have a generous
supply.
Suddenly, so it seems, we find
ourselves in the mature years of life, and become aware that our energy has leaked out. But it dawns on
us that we aren’t done yet! We haven’t finished what we started.
We haven’t reached our goals. Many dreams haven’t materialized.
We are forced to abandon some and readjust others. We haven’t yet
become what we hoped to be.
In frustration and then panic we may
frantically try scrambling up some earthly ladder toward completion,
attainment, and success. Fulfillment seems illusive. We stare into
the face of increasing limitations. It all seems to be downhill from
now on.
When we were younger, time seemed to
drag its feet. Now time is pushing the accelerator to the floor with
both feet. Life is like mist or smoke: when we try to catch it, our
fingers close around nothing. We keep asking, “Where did the time
go?” Have we lost the entire centerfold of life? We feel crowded
into a corner.
Trying to speed up or slow down or
remain static is all fantasy! Much of life is beyond my control. I’m
sure that I really wouldn’t be satisfied if I could stop time at
this or any moment. I might miss what God has planned for me just
around the next bend. What’s still coming may be better than
anything I’ve experienced in the past or present. I might miss the
invigoration of a fresh challenge, a hurdle to leap over, or a new
mountain to climb. Sometimes the Lord saves the best wine until the
last!
In any case, I don’t have a choice.
In the mortal realm I’m temporarily locked into earth’s time
frame and human condition. The clock ticks on until one day I step
over into a thrilling eternal dimension where time is of a different
essence.
Today is still the best day for
me as a child of God. The choicest moment is right now! The Lord must
have something special in mind to keep me around so long on Planet
Earth. I’ve already lived many yesterdays. I don’t know about my
tomorrows; God alone does. Today is the only time for which I'm
accountable, and I have the awesome opportunity to live it totally
for Jesus. I can’t afford to let today slip through my fingers
without living it to the hilt and celebrating life to the fullest.
While I live and breathe I still have time to be a faithful steward
of the rest of my life.
Life may be crowding me into a corner,
but I still have each new day to add more pages in full color to my
life-book!
(From the chapter "My View from the Summit" in Leona's forthcoming book)
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