A Bible verse about time:
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25
I’ve been thinking about time a lot lately; perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I’ve been thinking of the lack of time. Yes, I need to do a better job of not thinking “lack” thoughts, but sometimes it’s alright for introspection.
As I sat down today to start writing, I looked outside and saw the wind swirling across our field. Very visibly, it carried gusts of snow with it. Little snow tornados whipped all over the field, and I could feel my anxiety rise.
This happens to me every year. In our area, we get a decent amount of snow each winter. But the killer for us is the wind. Because we have such a large field, the wind can really create havoc for us.
For instance, we might only get 1/2” of snow. But that wind will deposit over three feet of snow across our entire driveway for the entire 1/2 mile length.
That results in a massive amount of work to remove it, just so we can get in and out of our driveway.
It’s not uncommon for me to spend a day snowblowing the driveway, only to have to do it again the very next day after more wind.
The sheer amount of time that I spend cleaning the driveway is almost unfathomable. It typically takes 2-3 hours to clear the driveway, upwards of five times a week. That’s pretty much the same time investment of a part time job.
Add that to the 70+ hours of work per week that I’ve worked this year and the time spent attempting to be a present and loving father, and I’m not left with much time afterwards.
This “lack” of time results in general apathy for me as I feel that I don’t have the time to work on my videos or my writing. Even when I do have the chance, I don’t have the desire as I’m too burnt out from everything else.
Furthermore, I have noticed a very distinct rise in my anxiety every winter since we’ve been living here.
On several occasions, we have been completely stranded.
We’ve had snowstorms deliver upwards of two feet of snow at a time, and on those occasions, it takes me several days to clear the driveway. And then several more days to clear the subsequent snowdrifts that come afterwards.
All that complaining aside, I promised my wife that I wasn’t going to let this winter follow the same historical path. Whatever happens, happens. We’ll figure a way to get through it.
The takeaway from this is that we are blessed to call this place our home. Even with this added burden, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
In regards to the Bible verse about time, I found this to be a good analogy. We, as humans, spend so much of time (ironically enough) focusing on the present, the miniscule, the macro events that shape our daily lives that we lose sight of the bigger picture.
If our life was a movie, we’d be too focused on the scene to enjoy the film.
That’s what this verse reminds me of. In the end, our lifetime will be over before we know it. In comparison to the worldview, the bigger picture, it’s just a fleeting moment.
Think of all the generations in history that have come and gone. They’ve all lived full, complete lives, and they are no longer.
It doesn’t matter how rich or poor they were. Moreover, how important they were is of no relevance. They’re not here anymore, and someday neither will we.
We are finite; God’s word is not.
The verses in the Bible were written centuries ago. They applied to readers that experienced completely different circumstances. Throughout history, those same verses have been equally applicable to troubles readers faced at that time.
So how is it that a document written to apply to one circumstance could possibly pertain to a completely different situation, of which the author knew nothing about?
Because the author was inspired by the word of God, and that word is infinite.
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