Time Without Watch
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“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6 NIV
Today I took a journey back in time and did not even need my watch. I attended the Ninety-Fifth Birthday party of my Nineth grade English teacher. As I talked with my former teacher, pictures flooded my mind of her class, her influence, and how she cared for her students. Her influence encouraged me to write. I attribute my writing career to Mrs. Leeth. She told me it was always in me. She recognized it and helped me develop it. As I hugged her, it was as if I was a senior in high school, and she was giving me the pep talk that I could take this next step of my life.
The party was in the small town where I attended elementary school. I walked onto the playground of my former school. The building had been torn down, but the playground remained for the community. Everything seemed smaller but I could picture playing on these grounds so many years ago. For a moment, I felt I was that little girl standing in the same place I stood at recess. The actual ground had not changed. I was still me and the ground was still the same dirt.
I also visited a cousin and walked into her farm home and immediately remembered standing there as a teenager when I attended a 4-H club meeting in her home. I stood in this house years ago. Again, I journeyed back in time without the need for any time equipment.
Each place I went and each person I interacted with took me to memories of earlier times in my life, but I was currently present with them. It is as if I was in the past with memories but living in the present at the same time. I drove down country roads and it felt like my mind was on the school bus traveling on those same roads. I talked with people from my earlier years of life who were also with me in my present moments.
We cannot live in the past even though in grief and loss, our desire is our past life especially when we feel the emptiness and sadness. We cannot be who we currently are without our past and the people who have influenced us. It is good to remember and to stand still in the memory and actually stand on the same ground and breathe in the feeling of that moment. Take it in again. It is still a part of you and always will be. Time stands still it seems, and we experience the feelings and connections again.
Let us take this into the present moment. What if you stopped more often, took a deep breath and were fully present in this moment. It is what God has given to you. Find yourself in this moment. God is fully present in the now. Stop wondering why God did not do something in your past and start meeting God in the now. God gives you a fresh start each day and reveals Himself in the sunrises and sunsets, the clouds, the sweet smells of summer, His Word, and He is as close to you as your own breath.
It is taking off the watch in your thoughts and stop trying to figure everything out and make sense of it and trying to control life with all the planning and scheduling. It is actually just experiencing the now. You can because you have the foundation and experiences of the past to keep you living forward. You will not sink because the past is your foundational support. This is the moment of life you have. You cannot live in the past, you just remember it. The past is completed and integrated into your foundation. At times certain memories are more vibrant and intense. They are all mixed up together. You have the privilege of treasuring the now – what is in front of you and making it a vital memory to use to strengthen your steps.
You may be thinking, “But I miss my past life.” I get it. But all you have is the now. So be fully present in the moment and find something to enjoy in it. Soak in the presence of God and allow God to shine His Presence into this moment. Find ways to see and feel God’s Spirit. God is timeless and His presence connects the past, present, and future. The time you have is now. Live in it.
