Tick-tock

Oh, but to stop the hand of time.

What would I do then? If I could climb the tallest clock tower and hold the hour hand still, I would.

It seems we're always running out of time. We are always in need of time. We long for more time.

Tomorrow night is a big one. All eyes will be on the hand of the clock, as it approaches midnight and welcomes a new year. (At least, that is in the USA.)
We all stop and pause as the seconds approach the 12 o clock hour, as if something monumental is taking place, and still the clock continues to tick away.
It holds no favorites. Time never stops for us and our inconveniences. It doesn't respect our sorrows or needs. It just does it's part, and we are to comply.

So much depends on time. People's expectations...their hopes, goals, and dreams. Births, deaths, wedding dates, travel plans, anniversaries, vacations, and other events.

So what if there were no time restraints? No due dates or deadlines.
No limits on time? What then?

Think about it for a second, if you will.
What would you do? How would you live?

I don't think I can honestly come up with a good response. I know that I'd love to be lazy and not worry about time demands. But I don't know that I'd want that every day.
I know I'd want to care for those who are in need... to be there for my mother...spend time with children in hospitals enduring pain, and the elderly who are sick with ailments. I'd want to travel with my favorite people. I'd love to watch my daughter swim and my son climb. I'd call long lost friends. I'd visit with my dad.

And yet, I know that those responses, although they are pure in heart, they are all that my human mind can fathom. My mind is so limited. Just like time is limited.

And still my mind cannot truly process the meaning of a timeless existence.
That is why heaven and eternal life are so mind boggling.

To live eternally... forever.... without and end to time?
Only God could come up with that. And only He can plan it so that it's just right. You see, when I think about eternity with God, I can only imagine it with my human mind. That is why God's plan is for us to be transformed along with time.
1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

We will not be as we are now. We will not have the needs of human kind. And so no deadlines, no due dates, no demands.... means that we can truly enjoy eternal life doing that which brings complete fulfillment--- connecting with God.

John 3:15,that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.

Lili

Childhood friend
Never forget.

Blood sister even.
Never regret.

It's the person who believes you and takes you as you are.
She's too young to care about looks, beliefs, and attributes.
No prejudices there, what matters is you.

It's the smile, with the dimples, the one imprinted in your mind.
Fun times, silly times, and simple being close times.

It's the child that never grows up because your memories live on.
It's your wildest dream coming to life, when all fear is gone.

The bike rides down city streets. The walks in a lonely cemetery.
The pranks, the calls, the fights, the talks.

It's a young girl without a name because daddy's gone and mom pushes her away.
It's her shadow in the dark.
It's her cry without words.
It's her courage still suppressed.
By the demands of this world.

It's a girl now turned to woman.
Leaving traces on my heart.
Distance is but a gasp, although we are far apart.

The childhood smile fades away, though it appears from time to time.
There's more to life...
New dreams and hopes.
Our own little ones to raise.
Determining to be there unlike our parents were.

And we've done good.
We've done great.

Best wishes to you, my childhood friend.

face of Christ?

Genesis 1:27 states that God made man in His image. Okay, sounds simple enough.
And yet it isn't. You see I'm struggling with seeing God's image in man.

Don't get me wrong, it's easy to see Him in beautiful newborn babies, and in those peaceful looking elderly people, and even in those dear to us and whom we love most. I can see God's image in the faces of my beautiful children, the smile of a friend, and I can even sense Him in the stillness of the night or early dawn.

But I'm finding it really hard to see Him in the faces of those who are less fortunate than me. It's hard to see Him in those that walk on the "broader path"; the rebels, or those who commit heinous acts. It's hard to see Him in the face of the lawbreaker, and the street walker, the prostitute, and the homeless.

Why can't I see Him? Maybe it's because I've always thought it to mean that God created "these men". The ones I'm familiar with. The ones that occupy the church building. The ones that I pray and share praises with.

It wasn't until recently that I began to fathom that maybe the verse was referring to all people. All men. Even the ones I don't acknowledge and the ones I don't consider worthy. Even those "men" carry the image of God.

It's mind boggling to me that "God will use the lowly to humble the lofty"--(paraphrased) but derived from 1 Corinthians 1:28,
"God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are"
And yet that is what He does. I'm humbled at the fact that I have overlooked the face of Christ, who knows how many times.
And yet it is also good to know that the fact that I didn't notice, doesn't change God's word. Thankfully and graciously, it is not up to me, who would be considered or not. Thankfully and ultimately, it is up to God. He is the creator and we are all just a mere fraction of who He truly is.

And sadly but lastly, although I may not appear like it on the outside and exterior, I am just as unworthy and distorted as the other guy.... the one sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a smile.