All of the Many…
The Musings of Carolyn Wesner
How Much Time?
We tend to think (we are self-centered time-oriented people) that our days will continue much the same, yet knowing that in some far-off time, our time will be up. Even then, not many of us will leave a mark lasting more than a generation or two.
Consider our universe: it is calculated to be more or less 13.8 billion years old, measured in how long it takes light to travel distances (186,282 miles per second – evidently the universe isn’t on the metric system yet). If we boarded the Starship Enterprise at warp, it would take us 93 billion years to cross all 546 sextillion miles of the known universe. Pretty sure we don’t have that much time.
So, why DO we think we have lots of time later to: hug the kids, rake the elderly neighbor’s leaves, write a letter to congress, volunteer for a shelter, be a great employee, downsize our stuff, write an Advanced Directive and a Last Will? Or more importantly, nurture the spiritual side of our humanity? Something goes wrong in the human heart when we think we have lots of time; we only have our lifetime and we don’t know how long that is.
But wait, maybe you are working two (three) jobs just to make ends meet. Life is one big hurry, hurry filled with appointments, checking off task lists, living paycheck to paycheck, or running after a house-full of toddlers nonstop. Wait until things settle down or the kids grow up or I find a good job or earn enough to retire. Jesus said “I am with you always”. Even when we don’t remember that, or know it at all, there is God’s invisible presence which provides care and guidance throughout our lives. Start with a few moments of chat with God: while driving to work, folding the laundry (turn off the TV), waiting in the check-out line, arriving at church a bit early. It’s a start, and doesn’t take much time.