Spiritual Journey Thursday - The Gift of Time

 

 I look forward to Thursdays when I can publish thoughts on my spiritual journey and hear the thoughts of others on a weekly basis.  It has become a space for an encouraging and fortifying community to come together.  We welcome anyone who would like to join us! 

 

This month has taken on its own theme - unintentionally on my part.  The theme topic of GIFTS developed.  Today's post is about The Gift of Time.

 

 

     Time flies.  It seems to fly faster and faster as I get older.  I'm writing this post on Christmas day since I know I won't have time (how ironic) to write this next week, and I wanted to make sure I could reflect on the passing of 2015.  What a year it was!  So full of gifts.  So full of joy.  So full of so much.  New Year's Eve always seems a little nostalgic.  It's such a concrete marking of time.  We look back at the year, its ups and downs, its happiness and sorrow, its fun and stress, and look forward to the future and all its unknowns.  Time, so fleeting here on Earth, is so precious. 

 

     The house is quiet right now.  The girls are gone for the moment, and my husband is napping.  Even the dog is quietly resting.  This Christmas was wonderful.  Last night, my family surrounded the dining room table in flickering candlelight - Libby and Jamie, Katie and her boyfriend, John, Ed and me.  We feasted on a delicious dinner and laughed and talked.  Afterward, we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Eve service at our church, Lebanon Presbyterian.  Katie's boyfriend sang with other returning college kids, our pastor gave a message about peace, and we lifted our candles in the dimmed sanctuary while we sang the final verse to "Silent Night".  We came back to the house to open our traditional Christmas Eve presents - Christmas picture books (read about this year's books here) and pjs.  Waking up this morning, my 19-year-old pouncing on our bed in the morning just like she did when she was a toddler, and having Libby and Jamie here on their first Christmas morning as a married couple, filled me with joy.  Christmas never loses its magic for me.  Tomorrow we will journey to Florida to visit both sets of parents and Ed's sister's family.  So thankful for this holiday time!

 

 

 

 

 

  

     When you're reading this, though, a week will have passed.  It will be the last day of 2015.  I'm not sure what will have transpired in the week between this writing and that reading; what I do know, though, is that God has it all under control.  He has the master clock in His hands, and I trust Him wholeheartedly.  I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I know the time He gives us here is a gift.  All the good and all the bad.  It's the time for us to learn to love each other and Him.  Time here is short, but time with Him is long.  While we're in the in between, I thank Him for the gifts of family, friends, neighbors, and vocations - time to enjoy this flawed and crazy life - this wonderland of unknowns - the passing years...

 

     Happy New Year's to all of you!  May God bless you and your loved ones and keep you close.  We welcome 2016 and everything it brings!!