Time in a bottle

Lately I wondered about how it sometimes seems that we live in our own little world. We hear about other places, other people but with so much information being thrown at us in all different directions it's hard to make sense of it all. Maybe it's the feeling of being saturated with so much information that makes me think about sealing myself away. Yet, spending time in a bottle wouldn't allow me to grow. Instead it would be like I've been sealed away only to be thrown for a loop when the world comes crashing in.

How do we find a balance? I've been trying to wade my way through the morass that constitutes this crazy world we live in. I'm grateful that God is faithful. He sees my struggle and wants me to grow in him. It is scary to be dependent, yet it is the only way to be. I know that sounds like a paradox. God wants us to grow, yet he also wants us to be dependent on him.

What does this have to do with time? You may recall that my first blog focused on this, and that in every blog since I've tried to mention time. I believe that God works in time, and that his timing is perfect. I also believe that we can find that balance and stability that we long for every day. We don't have to long for those alternate realities.

An anniversary of sorts-traveling

I recently helped my little brother celebrate his 5th wedding anniversary. There was no party. Instead I wished him well as he traveled with his wife up to New Hampshire. I got to thinking about another anniversary...one that came suddenly, just as it had two years earlier. That anniversary was a sad one. I can still remember the sick feeling down deep in my gut when I first heard the news. Some of the people I know are still suffering because of what happened that awful day. I've done a lot of traveling since then, both mentally and physically.

It still amazes me how some things stick in your mind after a long period of time, while others fade quickly. I think about the time before this, when the resonance of the "September 11th" mega crisis froze and sickened me. I'm not saying that the images of that horrific day don't haunt my dreams, or freeze me in my tracks. They do, and they always will. Yet this anniversary affected me more personally, than the other one.

Reflections on time

Time passes swiftly for the old, so they say. It seems as if you turn around and the friends you knew have grown old. You remember when things were simple. Yet, the young don't understand. To them, it seems as if time is crawling. I do remember when I felt that way. I would look at the sky and wonder if the situation I was in would ever get better. I still recall the feeling when I first got to Basic Training that it would never end. I saw the future and it looked pretty bleak. Yet, now almost 25 years later, it seems as if a blip in the past.

I don't mourn the passage of time. I learned that I need to be content in whatever situation I find myself in.

Passage of time

Last week I mused about the passage of seasons, and how I love autumn. This week I have to say that all four seasons have something I love about them. I love the summer for its abundant daylight and warmth. I love the autumn for its colorful leaves and the cool breezes. I love the winter for the snow and the beauty of it when it first covers the ground. Autumn did finally come this week bringing rain....too much rain in some parts. Poor Darby! They have come to expect some flooding, but not like what happened last Friday.

Last week I also heard some bad news about one of my cousins, and reflected again on my own life. Selfish, I know...but sometimes it's helpful too. I often wonder at times like this about how my life reflects on others. What will they say about me? I'm hoping that I will have made a difference and that my life reflected the life of my Lord. Yet, the scary part is that too many times I take the selfish way out. I reflect only on myself, forgetting others and soon that passage of time creeps up and I'm left with nothing to show for my life. I can't really say anything about my cousin who died, as I barely knew him at all.

Waiting for fall

The first day of fall felt like summer. Even with the rain, it felt like a steam bath. I guess it's good in one way---sweating off the pounds. Yes, I still think about that and wonder why it is now so hard to lose the extra pounds. I know I have to stop obsessing about it. Yet most of the advertising time spent is spent on exercise machines (I call them torture machines) and diet products. I cringe when I think of all the time and money spent to try to get thinner. Some of it is good. We all do need to be more aware of our food intake...what we're putting in our bodies. This is especially true when you discover that most of our eggs, poultry and other food products come from unsanitary conditions. (At least that's what you hear from those who know.)

Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the colorful leaves, the nice cool breezes and the smell of burning leaves. I still recall the time I went to a bonfire the community was having to celebrate. I wanted to bring marshmallows, but chickened out at the last minute. There is nothing to compare to listening to the fire crackle and feeling its warmth touch your face.

Materialism-Do we make time for God?

I went on vacation last week to a place that prides itself on holding onto the past. In the downtown area, there are signs everywhere that the people want to make changes. We are a nation that forever likes to live in the moment, forgetting the past and foraging into the future. Yet we feel a pull to go back to those simple times. Our past has a lot to teach us. It can't define us. We can't be so focused on living or trying to live in a past that we have no part of living.

Hence the struggle...a big part of that past is what we really need to bring back to life. We forgot God to our drive to gather more stuff to satisfy the huge hole in our lives. We look for the next best thing, little realizing that we forgot the very one that gave us our being. I noticed the churches that peppered the area and mourned. Not even the website for the place mentions the presence of these churches. Where has our faith gone? Have we given up on God?

I long for the days, seems like a lifetime ago, when the churches were alive and growing with people. I still remember the days after that horrific day in September 2001 when a mini revival started. What happened? Has time washed away the revival?

Fears relieved or Faith emboldened

My sister and her husband made it home safely from Bermuda. The big scary hurricane heading our way averted the shoreline and made its way out to sea. I thank God for his mercies that are new every morning. I'm now planning another trip myself. I felt it this morning as I struggled to work...that need to get away and relax for a time. I will have a lot to think about and mull over during this time away. I know that I need to let go of my fears for the future. I need to believe that God is in control. Yet, this is hard to do. I let myself get carried away by my worries. I have to stop that. I have to let God be God. If I don't, then it's like giving up or even worse...rejecting God.

I long for the day that I will meet God. I hope that he will say to me...

"Come into your own, thou good and faithful servant."

I know I don't deserve anything from God. None of us do. I marvel though at his grace towards us. His sacrifice for me leaves me breathless. I know that my faith is weak, yet I also know that he uses the weak.