Nov 6th, 2021: Meaning of Time


Most of us know that we are not irreplaceable at work. However, none of us is replaceable at home. That is the hard truth many people learn too late in life and end up paying for it. I have met working mothers who live in the turmoil of being divided emotionally. I have met fathers who lament over the lost years with their kids because they are busy chasing their careers.


We can never gain back time. Today happens only once in life, and when it is over, it is gone forever. It is a gift that we can never ask for more. However, we can waste our given time. We are aware of time because it does impact us. Some people told me that they realized that they don't really know their kids and had lost the emotional connection with their kids since junior high. Some wake up in bed in the morning and have the feeling that they are next to a stranger.


We won't be able to make sense out of time if we are not intentional about it. The meaning of time depends on how purposeful we are in life.


Choose to do what is right before what is pleasurable. We can avoid lots of life headaches if we can do that consistently. The right things are always more pleasant in the long run.


Learn to enjoy the moment without having any self-fish agenda. Our memorable moments with our kids sometimes were not planned. They are full of delightful surprises.


Learn to take things in more. We can be so distracted that many meaningful events happen without us noticing them. Slow down and embrace these moments.


Take some risks so we won't allow our need for comfort to erase our awareness of time. It is like someone deciding to have sushi for the first time. We discover ourselves and others at the same time.


Be outrageous in prayers so we might learn the meaning of praying in trembling and fear. It slows time down because we have to wait at times.


Psalm 144: 4

"Man is like a mere breath;

His days are like a passing shadow."


Ecclesiastes 12: 8

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "all is vanity!"


Psalm 103: 15-16

"As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,

And its place acknowledges it no longer."


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