My Sunday Thought for December 20, 2015: Time

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do

Once you find them

-- Jim Croce, "Time in a Bottle"

There never seems to be enough time.  Of course, you don't realize this when you're young.  I think realization hits somewhere around the middle of your working life when you realize money can buy you everything, but you still empty.  It's the point you admit that no amount of money can buy your way out of that feeling; the time when you ask, "Is this all there is?"

And then you're old.

Never enough time turns to fears of time running out.  You find yourself wondering if forgetting a name is the onset of Alzheimer's, or just old timers.  You silently pray you never lose your mind, because it seems to be the only true friend you've ever had, though the "silent prayer" would be your admission that God is becoming more and more important as your time here winds down.

Every morning brings a new ache, new reminders of your lifetime of bodily abuse.  Breakfast includes meds and aspirin, coffee, and an occasional dose Elijah Craig when the pain just won't let up.  The face you see in the mirror is familiar, yet older.  The hair is becoming easier to brush as it disappears, and you marvel that you still have all your teeth.

You find the questionnaires at doctor's offices humorous.  Name?  Uh... oh, yeah.  Sex?  Yes, please!  Married?  Not if I can help it.  How is your health?  I'm visiting a doctor, how good can it be?  Do you have muscle aches?  Do you drink alcohol?  Do you smoke? Do you get up at night to urinate?  I'm old, you moron; yes to all.  I like to visit older doctors that actually read these things and ask relevant questions concerning my answers.  It makes me feel like I haven't wasted some precious time better spent actually being seen by him.

I find my life, at this point, is more about walks on the beach and through the park.  I find these walks are more about talking with God and making my "shit" right with the Lord.  I find the Bible less important than the message, and the message so much less complicated than "holy" scripture tries to make it.  Love God, love yourself, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  How can you elaborate on ten simple commandments enough to fill a book?  You come to realize, as you get older, only man could complicate the simple word of God to such an extreme as to create a book of dubious attribution, questionable intent, and countless contradictions requiring even more explanation and interpretation.

Time? Time is still misunderstood. Physicists try to understand it and philosophers try to explain around it. Time continues to march on while we waste it on research into what and why. Even if we understood it, could we change it? I think not. Time is truly the gift of God and the bane of our existence. Time is what we spend learning to be. Time is full of sadness, happiness, mistakes, failures, success, and realization. Time prepares us for what comes after, and reminds us of what went before. Time is something we learn to cherish, and is a cruel taskmaster. Put time in a bottle? I have found I don't have the time to waste on trying.

I would rather spend it with you.

Take some time to think about time and you might find it is time well spent.  Time is never wasted and time is never lost.  Time and again we find the time to do what's right.  Will we ever understand time?

Only time will tell.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."