Tag: zip

Rush

Dr. J.D. WilkinsLeave a comment

What’s you’re hurry?  Why the need to gallop through life? Is it that necessary to race to the finish without smelling those proverbial roses?  When I was in high school I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license for the freedom of movement and the promise of adventure that little piece of plastic represented.  Now, some decades later, that little piece of plastic still allows me to zoom, zip, and whip along my way on the freeway to my heart’s desire… but now I mostly fear for my life, and the life of my family, when I’m out on those freeways today.  Today’s drivers bring a whole new meaning to the words “bolt, careen, and speed.” So you get there two and a half minutes faster, so what?  Slow down already… don’t be in such a rush.

What’s true on the highway is true in life too, don’t you think?  In just the last two weeks my wife and I have found a home that meets our needs better than our current one, and decided to put our house on the market.  For several days I rushed from one task to the next providing financial data to our lender, meeting with our realtor, and making sure we dotted all the “i’s” and crossed all the “t’s” to get this ball rolling.  We listed the house on Thursday and had open house over the weekend. A few “lookie loos” came parading through, marveling at how wonderful the house is, and why we should ever want to leave.  When order was restored, our realtor remarked that it’s early days, but there were two couples who seemed genuinely interested in the purchase process.  I said to the realtor, “Well, that’s good, because I am one of the most patient people you’ll ever meet.”

What a joke right?  Anyone who knows me, knows I’ve been full tilt on “go” since I came out of the womb.  I’ve rushed through each phase of my existence on this planet, always ready for the next big adventure.  Patience may be a virtue, and it is definitely on the list of the Fruit of the Spirit of God, but it rarely shows up in my life with strength, or longevity.  Apparently, I’m a work in progress when it comes to patience.  This morning, before I started writing this article, I was reminded again of just how sad it is for people like me, always rushing around to the next task.

Contemplating the weekend’s activities, and thinking about writing out the list for today’s jobs, I looked to my right to get the yellow stickie notepad on my desk … and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the sun rising in the east.  A totally cloudless sky of deep purple enhanced the glowing yellow and orange rays of the coming light.  I was mesmerized, and shocked at how few times I’ve just sat and watched the sun come up.  For whatever reason, what I did next shocked even me.  I sat.  I breathed.  And I watched in wonder at the beauty of God’s creation.  I wasn’t anxious.  I wasn’t in a hurry.  I wasn’t rushed.  I just sat.

So here’s the thing.  What’s your rush?  Take a moment, and take a breath.  Now relax, look around at something besides the “to-do list,” and take the time to see the wonder and beauty of God’s creation.

Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

 

 

Rush

The Sound of Time

Dr. J.D. Wilkins2 Comments

Daily Post: Zip

time marches on

It marches on.  This indefinite existence of past, present and future events, all collectively assimilated into and regarded as a whole life.  Time waits for no one.  It’s so easy to say, “I’m leaving in a couple of hours to go play golf, then run by the store to pick up a brisket to put on the smoker.”  When the reality is, we actually have no control over anything in that statement except to say that is “the plan.”  We might intend these things, make schedules, keep calendars, even prearrange as best we can, but the future is yet unknown.  It arrives to quickly.  It arrives suddenly, in a zip, like the sound of a bullet whizzing by your ear, before you even know it has been fired in your direction.

We measure time.  The watch on our arm, or in our pocket, clicks along the smallest of units we can comprehend and the seconds turn into minutes.  Try to hold your breath for just one full minute and your lungs will tell you exactly how long that really is.  Try to smile for one full minute and the muscles required for the action will enlighten you as to how long sixty seconds really is.  Try to gain back the minute you just used to read the last few sentences, and you understand the limitations of  your existence.  It is impossible to go back.  So as not to waste our time, we plan, we calendar, and we ignore the fact that we are really not in control.

Your children are born, they grow up, they move away, they have children, and time has sped through years and years, but it still seems like your children are children.  It marches on.

You get your first job, get promoted, change companies, get a new territory, change companies, and time has sped through years and years… it marches on.

What is the sound of time?

Kisses in the dark.  Laughter in the park.
The wind in the night.  A scream from a fright.
The first born coo.  An elephant blast at the zoo.
That mockingbird.  The mooing cattle heard.
A grandchild’s cry.  A grandfather’s sigh.
The soft tearful wail, when time has prevailed.

The apostle Peter helps us with a single thought regarding the zippiness of time.

2 Peter 3:8
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 

People like to quote this verse to demonstrate the timelessness of God, that He is present tense all the time.  In God’s time continuum 1 day = 1,000 years; and 1,000 years = 1 day.  Do you see any logic in this statement?  It reads the same backwards and forwards.  These are not two separate thoughts, but one thought expressed two ways.  So in God’s world 1 day is 1,000 of our years.  Or 1,000 of God’s years is 1 day of our existence.  Which is it?  How could we possibly know?  I believe the expression is to help us get the idea that our time zips by, while God is the same… yesterday, today, and forever.  Because the context of this statement is about Jesus coming again to conclude human history.

If we understand these concepts, if we commit to their truth, it releases in us the importance of not wasting our days, hours, minutes, and seconds… with unimportant matters.  It turns our hearts toward the now.  Living this moment to its fullest.  Being alive, knowing we’re alive, and living in a way that brings God glory.

What is the sound of time?

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

When we hear the shout, and hear the trumpet blast from the archangel of God, then we will know that TIME has just begun!

 

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