For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)

How Long – Timing is Everything Series – Part 2

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

Time can be seen in two ways:

There’s time in a quantitative sense. It’s what we’re talking about when we say such things as – what time is it, come over at this time, the movie starts at 7pm. It’s the measuring of our lives by minutes, hours, days, etc.

Then there’s time in a qualitative sense. This definition of time has nothing to do with how long something took or when is a good time to meet… it speaks more of what happens ‘within' a certain time. It’s what we mean when we say things like, “that was the time of my life” or “I’ve never experienced a more painful time…”

The writer of Ecclesiastes (and in Ancient Hebrew tradition) placed more emphasis on the qualitative nature of time, rather than it’s linear clock-like properties. They were all about what a time or season brought out in a person or group; what did the moment teach them. Of course, time management is good and needed, it's a necessary life skill (I have to admit, one that I’m not too ’skilled’ in).

In our modern world, where everything is scheduled, and everything is measured, time measurement is essential.

When can you get there?
How long will it take?
What times do you have available?
How long did it take you to lose that weight?
How long did it take you to do your exam?
How long does it take to drive to Canada?
How much sleep did you get? Didn’t get?
How many appointments can you fit into a day?
How fast did your business grow?
How much time did you spend making that?
How many things did you tick off your list today?
When will my prayer be answered?
When will I be healed?
How long until my partner shows up?
When will I have enough time?

Time. Time. Time.

Time measurement is important because the more we can fit into a certain time frame, the more we will have after a whole block of time. While we do need to measure time, this idea has been largely influenced by consumerism and the thirst for more. We’re fitting too much into too little time, and the quality of our lives are suffering for it.

Plants take time to grow, houses take time to build, a baby spends nine months in the womb, it takes us 12 hours to drive to Jesse’s mum's house, a broken leg takes time to heal… the bitter cold wraps its icicle arms around us for a season, only to be driven out by small rays of warm hope, before the blistering heat embraces us fully… and the cycle continues.

Jesse (husband) is a barista (amongst other things) and every morning he makes me a latte on our little coffee machine. He grinds the beans, tamps the ground coffee, locks the group handle into the machine, and lets the hot water brew through the coffee clamped into itself until just the right amount of it pours golden drops into my small black espresso mug. He heats the milk, I can hear it churning and warming in the jug, swirls it to a glossy meringue-like finish, and then angles the milk jug into my mug laced with espresso in such a way that a beautiful honey colored pattern forms on the very top of the milk.

Instant coffee is a much quicker process… and its taste reflects it. There’s no beauty in it, none at all.

In his book, The Sabbath, Abraham Heschel wrote, “To gain control of the world of space is certainly one of our tasks. The danger begins when in gaining power in the realm of space we forfeit all aspirations in the realm of time. There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.”

Divine grace thrives in the liminal space, the moments we rescue from the worship of accumulation and things, the now and not yet, in-between the beginning and end of things.

Lean into that grace. It opens your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you and is within you. At all times.

How do you deal with the ‘waiting?' Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Go to Part 3 – Rhythm and Time »

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