Day 3 - Tick Tock of the clock

This is Day 3 of our Thanksgiving experiment - This last Sunday a friend gave me a special gift, it was a watch. Not just any watch, but one which he made. It is old school, no bells, no whistles, no battery, it's the kind you wind every day. All this week as I have worn it, wound it and watched it (no pun intended) it has reminded me to live life as it comes, embrace each moment, look for God in all that he is doing and give thanks for each breath, each heartbeat, each laugh, each opportunity to drink deeply the sacrament of time!

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table after my run (it was 43 degrees this morning), I'm enjoying a pot of tea and having pancakes with the kids. I am reminded how quickly they grow up and how important it is to capture the moment to laugh, talk, love ... to slow down for just a moment ... but the moment is short lived as we look at the clock and realize that time has gotten away from us. So off they go and I begin to thank God for moments like these. Reflecting on the up coming weekend I am aware that mornings like this are becoming more rare; everyone is going in different directions. Take this week end for example; Gail leaves for the ladies retreat, Wes heads to the Jr. High retreat, Allison works tonight, takes the SAT in the morning and then joins the retreat tomorrow to lead worship ... and me well I'm here reading and writing on a doctoral seminar. Life seems full these days, not busy, just full. Full of life, family, friends, learning and God; all being experienced with each tick tock of the clock.

But right now, at this moment I am pausing to S.O.A.P. up in Ecclesiastes 3, you know the passage, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:" Time is one of those enigmas; it costs, it pays, it passes too slow, too fast, like sand, the tighter you hold on to it the more it slips away. I think the older I get the more I want to drink deeply of every sacred moment. God is the creator of time; he knows it, understands it, gives it, redeems it, can stop it, speed it up or even bring it to an end as we know it. In the mystery of time I look to the creator of time and find rest from the pace, joy in the journey and yes ... sacrament in each moment.