Last year I had to catch an early morning flight out of Denter International Airport to Dallas. I was making the flight alone, and due to the early schedule, it had been a short night. I settled into my seat, buckled in, put my head back, and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew I awoke, slightly disoriented and discovered the plane was already flying at 30,000 feet. I had peacefully slept through taxi, take-off and the climb through the clouds.
What blessing to be able to sleep so well, I thought. My next thought was whether or not I had missed the coffee cart (they don't serve breakfast any more, you know). I hadn't, but it made me wonder how this compares to life, namely how quickly time passes. Just last year it seems I was a teenager, last month I was a young parent, and last week I was still leading a growing church.
You may wonder, as I do, where does the time go? How did I get to be this old so fast? Did I sleep through some of those years? Did I miss something important along the way? Can I really be that wrinkled face that looks back at me from the mirror?
There is not much we can do to slow the passing of time. But we can pray that God will help each of us make the most of the time we have. And we can pray that we will not miss, or sleep through, the really important times in life. With all the distractions in our world, it's not hard to do that. And we can be glad that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
They say life goes slow when you're young, faster as you mature, and then slows down again when you're old. I think it just goes faster each day we live. That means we need to make good use of every day. We need to make sure we are using our time well, serving others, enjoying each day, asking God for direction and joy along the way. Soon our time on earth will be over, and then we'll realize the saying, "Only one life - "Twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
I think I'll go out back and smell the lilacs!
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