It is later than we think...

As I was driving by a local funeral home the other day, I took notice of this large clock and thermometer display sign they have. I don't usually travel this way t work, but took this route as an alternative since I was running a little later than usual and it would help me avoid some traffic. I was struck by the time on the sign as it said it was later than I perceived it to be. Now, at first, this provoked a little reordering of thought and recalculate on in my path to work, but when I noticed the smaller clock on the dashboard, that time was closer to the time I believed it to actually be.  I think there are times in life when we perceive it to be one time, but may not realize it is later than we think! Maybe this was the message from the funeral home...consider the time, for it may be later than you think.

For everything there is a season, a time to every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. (Ecclesiastical 3:1-2)

We may perceive time to be endless, especially in our youth, but as we age a little, we see just how quickly it passes. I dreaded summer vacation off of school as a kid because I liked the mental stimulation of school. A couple weeks of break and I was ready to go back! Time seemed to stand still as those three months passed! Now, a week can be gone in the blink of an eye! What once seemed unending now appears quite limited.

In life, we have opportunities which come our way at a particular time in our life. They may not come our way again because they are more or less "time sensitive". I would have to say relationships are one of those things. We can twitter away fragments of time without ever realizing it, all the while believing we have time, neglecting the important things within that relationship. It may be God is asking us to pay attention to that time a little today - like he is calling us back into focus. Whenever he does this, it isn't to punish us, but rather to help us recognize the true time, for we never really know when it will be "later than we think".

"How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" (Dr. Suess)  The age-old question: How did it get so late so soon? Define for me what the difference is between late and so late. Some might say the difference is being able to meet a deadline or be there just on time compared to totally missing the deadline or the timing for whatever needs to be done. Regardless of how we define it, the time we hold in our hands today will be gone all too swiftly and we know not if we are guaranteed more!

We want to imagine things as endles, but in reality God is the one in control. He counted out the grains within the hourglass which fall all to quickly to the bottom of that glass. All we can do is manage well what we have been given today and ensure we don't miss the opportunities to show someone how much we love them, or how precious their relationship has been to us as time has passed. Someday all we will be left with are the memories of how we used our time. We all want those memories to amount to a legacy. Don't squander those moments...it is later than you think! Just sayin!

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