Time Goes By

A year or so before I retired, my watch quit working.  Instead of replacing it, I decided I did not need one.  Most preachers want a watch while preaching.  With some degree of drama some will take it off each Sunday as they stand up in the pulpit and lay it down.  Perhaps, it is a way of saying time is not important here, or maybe its movement can be watched without being so obvious.  Anyway, I decided I always preached until I finished so having one did not matter then, or any time. 

 

When I got out of the pulpit and started riding the tractor here on the farm, I came to realize a watch was not really necessary.  Paying attention to the movement of the day was time piece enough.  After some time had been spent walking through the days in the midst of the creation, it became somewhat easy to know what the watch was saying to those who were wearing one.  A rising sun means it is time to spend the best of your energy at whatever it is that is out there to do.  As the sun seems to hang overhead as if afraid to move, it is time for renewing and resting.  And, as the shadows finally start getting longer it is time to think about finishing and doing what needs to be done before the darkness takes over.

 

Time is experienced differently in these days.  It moves along without the push of watches, schedules, appointments, and the urging of others.  The seasons have become more purposeful.  Learning to listen to the moods of the passing seasons, and the changing of the days provides direction for life, and keeps those who walk mindful of the creation in sync with what it is saying about how life should be lived in the present moment.