Time

Today's society is obsessed with time.

I don't know about you, but I am completely guilty of that charge. I plan my days down to the minute. I obsess over the time I've lost (due to... procrasinating, sleeping in... etc). I try to fill my day with as much stuff as I can do, trying to make every last second count. You know the advice people give to overachievers... "make a list of everything you want to accomplish today and cut it in half"? Yeah, the "cut it in half" part completely stresses me out (this is probably why I've never followed the above advice).

(bear with me, I have a point)

As a commuter, I'm always running from one transfer to another, hoping to catch the next train or streetcar before it leaves the station. Today, as I ran from the College subway station to the streetcar above, I saw a guy, probably my age, sitting in front of subway entrance. He held a sign that said "Please give money or bus tokens - I'm trying to get off the streets". My first instinctive reaction is... to see if the streetcar had arrived. *sigh*. It hadn't. I walked towards the bus shelter. I looked at him. I thought about my wallet full of tokens that I didn't need right now. Then, in a flash, he walked away and was gone.

As I stood there in the cold, I wondered what I should have done. I wondered what had held me back. I wondered what I would have done if next time, I saw someone sitting in the cold, outside of a subway station. I looked across the street at the Tim Horton's. I looked at all the busy people, moving from one place to the next, their minds fixed on their next goal. I asked myself if I would ask the next street person I see if he/she would like a coffee and then go get one with him/her. I asked myself what would hold me back from doing such a thing. I realized that my complete, overwhelming obsession with my time was.

I was strongly reminded of this verse

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Yes, the things that I need to do are important... be it schoolwork or spending time with family and friends or whatever else God has called me to be committed to this year. But there is a time for everything and maybe it's not during the exact hour that I had planned it for. If opportunity knocks (and how often He does), maybe it means that I have time for that too. In other words, "not enough time" is not a good excuse to Him. At the same time, I'm not encouraging people to overextend themselves either -- I think it goes back to knowing and listening to what you are called to do at each moment of the day.

So, as I pondered on this, while waiting another 5-10 minutes for my streetcar to arrive (the irony of this is not lost on me), I was continually amazed at the way God's grace is lavished upon us, even in the simplest events throughout the day. I thought back to the young man that provoked today's lesson and I prayed that God would take care of him as well.

Have a blessed day.