Time pass and the passage of time
I could walk uphill, a steep climb up Birch hill, to the Shrub-berry park in a single wind. No panting, no stopping for breath.
That was thirty years ago.
Now, at barely half the distance uphill, I have to stop to catch my breath.
The ticking of the biological clock, its silent but steady tick-tock, tick-tock, unwinds my image of the the young me; with lean but sturdy muscles, keen eyesight, upright bones and sharp memories. The me of today with gray hair, aching bones, a biggish belly, a little forgetfulness here and there and the extra strain of the eye, are grim reminders that age and time are catching up. Fast.
Chronus..in Greek...from where words like chronicles, chronology and chronometer have all arisen, is this word for this passage of time.
Time passes; inevitably, unwittingly, assuredly.
Yet in midst of this passage of "Chronus" time is "Kairos" time. Kairos: the Greek equivalent of a special time; a time of opportunity, a time of immense value and importance. A short time where much can be achieved. A time that brings everything in the platter. A time that comes with "locks in the forehead"..but "is bald behind".
Before me are two examples of kairos time.
The first is a large land, dry, arid, lifeless. Laborers have come and gone. Toiled, ploughed and tilled the ground, planted seeds and waited...no harvest. Suddenly there are winds of change. There is rain. There is harvest. Will the laborers now seize the opportune kairos time?
The second, is a school building.Several hands of management have changed. There has been growth, but not to its fullest potential. Here and now, is a season of blessing. Will there be the right managers to seize this oppurtune kairos time?
Kairos time is God given. One will reap where one has not sown. Yet there is immense wisdom and faith that is needed to seize this.
Tonight as I reflect on what is happening around me;I ask for wisdom, to see the kairos within the chronus.
Tomorrow, when I look back, may it be said; that I had the faith and the wisdom, to let time just not pass.
Amen.
That was thirty years ago.
Now, at barely half the distance uphill, I have to stop to catch my breath.
The ticking of the biological clock, its silent but steady tick-tock, tick-tock, unwinds my image of the the young me; with lean but sturdy muscles, keen eyesight, upright bones and sharp memories. The me of today with gray hair, aching bones, a biggish belly, a little forgetfulness here and there and the extra strain of the eye, are grim reminders that age and time are catching up. Fast.
Chronus..in Greek...from where words like chronicles, chronology and chronometer have all arisen, is this word for this passage of time.
Time passes; inevitably, unwittingly, assuredly.
Yet in midst of this passage of "Chronus" time is "Kairos" time. Kairos: the Greek equivalent of a special time; a time of opportunity, a time of immense value and importance. A short time where much can be achieved. A time that brings everything in the platter. A time that comes with "locks in the forehead"..but "is bald behind".
Before me are two examples of kairos time.
The first is a large land, dry, arid, lifeless. Laborers have come and gone. Toiled, ploughed and tilled the ground, planted seeds and waited...no harvest. Suddenly there are winds of change. There is rain. There is harvest. Will the laborers now seize the opportune kairos time?
The second, is a school building.Several hands of management have changed. There has been growth, but not to its fullest potential. Here and now, is a season of blessing. Will there be the right managers to seize this oppurtune kairos time?
Kairos time is God given. One will reap where one has not sown. Yet there is immense wisdom and faith that is needed to seize this.
Tonight as I reflect on what is happening around me;I ask for wisdom, to see the kairos within the chronus.
Tomorrow, when I look back, may it be said; that I had the faith and the wisdom, to let time just not pass.
Amen.
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