Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Time...



Time is something often talked/quoted about; “Look how time flies”, “Time is just standing still”, “I’m just killing time”, “time is of the essence”, etc, etc, etc….i’m sure you can come up with more. I’m always blown away how it is human nature to look back in the past and wish we would have “spent” our time differently in situations. Often I find myself doing this….sometimes it is deeply disappointing. I may look back at a day and wish that I spent more time cherishing the moments with my wife and children. I may look back at the week and wish I would have spent some of my work time more appropriately. I may wish I would have taken the time to work out or play basketball. Most often, however, it goes back to wishing we had spent more quality and quantity time with the ones we love.

Most people that take the time to read here likely know what is going on with my dad. He has had an accident and has been in a coma for the last 12 days. Things have been pretty stressful because it has been an emotional roller coaster through the whole process. If you want more details about what is going on, go HERE.

As I think back over the last couple of months, I recall several times that I really stopped to enjoy my dad’s time and company. He often likes to show off his knife collection and decided to do so for the 5th or so time to me. At first I remember thinking, “I’ve already seen all of these, what is he thinking”; however, there was another voice that said, “enjoy your time with him”. Boy, I’m glad I listened to the second voice. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him tell me about his Case, Sheffield, Buck, etc, etc, etc… I recall another conversation that I was able to have with dad on the way to the hospice center where my grandfather had passed away. It was a 30 minute ride each way, and I remember thinking how sweet of a time it was. He told me about how proud he is of each of us kids and how he loves my kids (his grandkids) to death. He was just beaming when he spoke of my kids. This makes me happy. He told me that he knows that he hasn’t done all the right things in his life, but he really loves the Lord. I am thrilled that I got this “time” with my dad.

Time is a funny thing. We use it up like it is unlimited. Unfortunately, it is not. There is a limit to the time we are given and every week that goes by, we have spent 168 hours doing something…..was it worth while? If the thing that God has always wanted most is “relationship”, did I spend my time building it with him and others? With dad in the place that he is right now, I sure do think a lot more about time – and the lack thereof. I just hope that this isn’t a temporary reflection that I lose sight of after all of the drama.

1 comment:

Walls Down Church Kids said...

So sorry to hear about your dad, but you are right..great reminder of how precious time is. I try to keep in focus to spend time with each of my boys and take advantage of those moments we have...and not get caught up in the daily "stuff". thanks for the post