It’s About Time

Is Time God-made or a human invention?

“You made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun that knows the hour of its setting. You bring darkness and night falls . . . ” (Psalm 104:19-20).

God created the seasons and their changing weather patterns. He created the Sun to bring light to the day and the Moon to govern the night. He made man to sleep and rest during the dark and He gave man talent, skills, and mission to tend the earth in the light. Depending on where one lives in the world, the ebb and flow of seasons and the duration of light and dark varies; one man’s day is another man’s night.

God created order and pattern. The invention of measuring time belongs to man.

From the invention of calendars by the Babylonians and Egyptians 5000 years ago up until the present standard for time accuracy of the atomic clock, man has willed to harness time for the benefit of humanity by bringing all in the world together through it. Measuring time is a worthy invention, of course, but let us consider the question of authority; who is serving whom?

Does Time Rule?

Does time serve humanity . . . or has humanity become slaves to time?

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have the blessing of looking at time through God’s vision. St. Paul explains,

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, Abba, Father! (Gal 4:4-5).

God in his Son, Jesus Christ, entered into time and therefore has divinized it. This means our days are not meant to be frantic races against time as if we were gerbils running on wheels to nowhere but exhaustion. By entering into time, Jesus witnesses how we are to exercise authority over time through God.

A Solution to the Anxiety that Comes with Responsibilities

For many years I felt pulled by many responsibilities; family needs and work deadlines were causing me much anxiety. When all my responsibilities became more than I could bear, I prayed, Lord, you cannot want me to be this overwhelmed all the time. I must be doing something wrong. Please help me.

Our Lord answered by leading me to his Mother, the Virgin Mary, through a daily praying of the Rosary. It made sense to spend time with her considering Jesus spent 30 of his 33 years on Earth living with her in a simple, quiet family life; the very life I longed for. Growing out of my daily Rosary came time each morning contemplating for 30 minutes the daily Mass readings through the devotional I had subscribed to. It may seem strange that the way to carve more time in one’s day is to take away from your daily duties in order to pray, but that is exactly what happened. It is what Mother Teresa must have discovered too. I read where one of her sisters complained she had no time for all that needed to be done. Mother advised, “Then spend an additional hour in Adoration.”

When we give the ‘first-fruits’ of our time to God, amazingly we find our priorities come into order, deadlines are met and that which we have no idea how they are going to get done, do get done or we discover they didn’t need to be. The most interesting aspect is that what we may think are interruptions in our schedules become God’s way of providing unexpected blessings that we would have missed otherwise.

Not at all coincidentally, it takes 40 days to begin a new habit. If you find yourself stressed feeling you could use some more time in your day, then consider this time of Lent to ‘fast’ from your schedule and ‘offer it up’ to God through a daily praying of the Rosary and contemplation of Scripture, especially the daily Mass readings.  It’s about time.

Nan Balfour is a grateful Catholic whose greatest desire is to make our Lord Jesus more loved. She seeks to accomplish this through her vocation to womanhood, marriage, motherhood, and as a writer, speaker and events coordinator for Pilgrim Center of Hope.

Answering Christ’s call, Pilgrim Center of Hope guides people to encounter Him so as to live in hope, as pilgrims in daily life. See what’s happening & let us journey with you! Visit PilgrimCenterOfHope.org.