The Lost Hour
We lost an hour. Before going to bed, as instructed, we pushed a few buttons or turned a knob and an hour was gone. Some forgot to make the change and arrived at church an hour late not even realizing they were an hour late. That hour is gone. Supposedly we will get the hour back
in the fall when we change the clocks back to real time. But, is that really possible?
When I woke up my body told me, "You lost an hour of sleep." When I looked outside and it was still dark I felt like I lost an hour. When we met for the Sunday night gathering it felt like we were meeting in the middle of the afternoon. It seems strange to just skip an hour. It seems like a waste.
After pondering the hour I lost (due in part to my preference for the real time which I inherited from my Granddaddy in the 60s when it started), I acknowledge that there are many other hours that I have wasted that just as frivolous. In fact, if you count the hour we lost with the time change and the time I spent thinking about not being a fan of the change, I probably lost two hours. We find many ways to waste time, don't we?
There's the hour spent daydreaming about what we would do if we had...
There's the time spent through the years sitting in useless meetings, discussing solutions to problems that most likely will never occur.
There's the time spent in conversation about the weather - how cold it is, how hot it is, how we need rain, and how we can't wait until it quits raining.
There's the time spent worrying about what we did wrong yesterday, and worrying about what we may do wrong tomorrow.
There's the time spent wondering about where we would be today if we had made a different decision ten years ago.
There's the time spent trying to change other people and being frustrated because we could not change them.
There's the time pretending to be working at the computer when actually all you're doing is browsing the Internet.
There's the time spent reading emails, getting upset, and forwarding emails about things that never really happened but sounded really true when you first read them.
Some (very uninformed people) would say I've wasted time watching golf on television, and wasted of time (and money) playing golf.
The fact is we are very creative in finding ways to waste time, aren't we? Chances are we'll never recover the hour we lost this weekend, but we can commit to use the hours we do have more wisely.
Paul gives good advice, "Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." (Ephesians 5:15-17, NIV)
The lost hour is lost. The next hour is not.
Live it wisely.
Live it with joy.
Live it with hope.
Share it with someone you love.
Live it for God.
Tom
A Norvell Note
Tom
A Norvell Note
