The Gift of Time

There’s a gift called time. You cannot create it, you cannot produce it, and it is only given by God-the author of time. And while I could pick many things to write about this gift, I’ll pick just one today.

As I grow older I have come to appreciate that there is no permanency in life. There is nothing that lasts forever. Whatever is there today won’t be there tomorrow. There’s always going to be change. And that change has a lot to do with time. There is a danger with us to want to deal with situations and circumstances based on the present. And while this is plausible sometimes and even recommended, sometimes it is unwise. I have learnt that if most situations are given a bit of time, they won’t matter as much as they do now.

Let me explain further.

When I look back at ‘mistakes’ that I made in my teenage or early twenties, they don’t hurt or strike me as they did then. Sometime ago in my first year in university I failed terribly in one of the courses that I was taking. I was very unhappy with the grade to the point that I wanted to even change my course choices to something else. Whenever I looked at that grade I felt like a failure. I felt like someone who didn’t have direction in life. I knew then that I was doomed and would never make it in life-I know; I am a little bit dramatic. I did go back and take a re-sit for the course and erase the ‘F’ grade from my transcripts but now that I think of it, it doesn’t actually matter that I scored an ‘F’ in first year.

I have friends, girlfriends, who, against their better judgment then, got pregnant and ended up with babies in university. At that point, that looked like the end of their meaningful existence in life. They were frowned upon. They were talked about behind their backs. At times even called promiscuous. No one wanted to associate themselves to the ‘girl that got pregnant’ in first year. Some of their parents might have even have scolded them and threatened to disown them for causing them untold shame in the village. These friends  would tell you that at that point they thought that they had totally obliterated any chance of success in their lives. But years later, asked the same question, most if not all of them aren’t really bothered by the fact that they had kids in university. They’d tell you that ‘it doesn’t matter!’

What has changed? Time has! Those college mates are now raising teenagers while most of us are raising toddlers. The parents who were mad at them at that time now love those grandchildren to bits and pieces. Time has a way of changing our perspectives on things. That is why some things are better left alone, untouched, and unfettered-for sometime. Because it might look very bad now but with time, it won’t be that bad.

I love when scripture uses the phrase “it came to pass…” I love it because it tells me that there’s nothing absolute. There’s no permanent season. That whatever it is that is right now will end. Nothing, except God, the author of time, wins against time. Everything, put up against time will fade-it will come to pass. So while it might look and seem terminal right now, the fact of the matter is that, that situation will end. It is a season. It is a period of time and it will end.

What is it that you are going through, battling, struggling with and fighting? What’s hurting you right now? What is it that is almost making you lose your mind and is making you lose your sleep? What is it? Is it unemployment? Poverty? Lack? Sickness and disease? Is it betrayal? What is it? The good news is that it will not last forever, it shall come to pass-it’ll end. The flip side of it is that we also have to know that even the good seasons have a timeline. The good times have a timeline. That is why it is important for us to live in the now as much as possible. Enjoy the time, the friends, the family, the lover, the good job, the environment, the weather, and the success in business. Enjoy it now because even that shall come to pass.

I didn’t want to write a lot nor did I even feel like writing a lot today, but I thought I’d remind you that, nothing lasts forever. Whatever it is, give it time. There is something interesting that happens when it rains and water is flowing into a river. It is normally tempest, carrying all manner of dirt and everything the current finds on the way. You cannot drink from this kind of water, you can’t fetch it even, it is dirty, murky and muddy. But we give it time. We allow the rain to subside. The flow reduces and the water settles. The mud will sediment at the bottom of the river and the water will become clearer. With a bit more time, the water will become crystal clear. It is even possible for us to see through the water. We didn’t sieve it, we didn’t use reverse osmosis to purify it-we actually did nothing! We stood still; we left it alone. We left it alone with time. If we had tried to do anything with it at that point, we would only have made it murkier.

It’s the invaluable lesson that the gift of time teaches us. The lesson is that sometimes you just need to be still and leave it alone. It is a lesson that older people have learnt through experience and younger people need to be taught and told. That not every relationship requires fixing now, not every question requires an answer now, that at times you don’t need to respond to your critics or even try to avenge yourself. That most times, time will do the work for you.

What is it that’s bothering you today? Give it time, step back, stop trying to fix it, and be still. In quietness and trust shall be your strength. This too shall pass.