Embracing Time

My sense of time has been seriously affected by the culture in which I live. I seem to have lost a sense of reality and perspective on time. The time given for most of my activities in life require little waiting.

Gone are the days of waiting for a meal to warm up or even cook. I have a microwave, or even a drive through.

No more waiting for the handwritten letter to arrive. I have a phone. I'm not even required to wait until I get home to use it. I have a cell phone. And if the phone doesn't meet my needs, there is e-mail or even instant messaging.

No longer must I wait all day for clothes to dry on a clothes line. Within an hour I can have clothes dried, folded and put away.

Even hundreds of years in the Bible are condensed nicely for a read in a few short days if I so desire. I can read the wait of others in a matter of minutes in any given story that I choose to reflect on.

These are just a few examples of how life around me has warped my sense of time. I have discovered something about myself. When something is not resolved immediately, or within a short period of time... somehow that does not feel acceptable. I whine, complain and question why things take so long. And yet, it is only in my own distorted sense of reality and time that this occurs at all.

I live in a world that fights time with all it's power. The world around me seems to dictate quickness, speed and more to be done in less time. I must fight this thinking with all that is in me. There is no choice but to fight.

Time is a process I am not very familiar with. Time is a process I am learning to love and embrace. Time is a concept that is becoming my friend.

Even with the world around me accomplishing more and more in less and less time, there are still things that remain held in the true sense of time. There are things that can not be rushed or sped up despite man's efforts to do so.

Time gives me permission to slow down, evaluate and work through so many racing thoughts, feelings and emotions. Time gives me permission to do the work required for a complete heart. I must allow time to be a part of the vocabulary used by my soul and spirit.

I am learning to embrace time. Are you?