Redeeming the Time

The clock at Grand Central Station.

     As we move toward the New Year of 2013 many of us wonder at how quickly the time flies.  It feels like just last week we were celebrating 2010, 2011, 2012.  My parents have always said that the older you are, the faster the years go.  When I was younger, I didn’t understand that, but I have lived enough years to realize that they are right.
     I few years ago, I bought Pat and our son, Brian, a digital clock/ipod charger for Christmas.  I may have given the clock to Pat, but the truth is, that as long as we have had it, it has been on my side of the bed.  The alarm beeps loudly and irritatingly at 5:15 each morning and after hitting the snooze, I drag myself out of bed.  At night the clock had glowing numbers which meant that I could wake up, glance at the clock and know how much time I had left to sleep.  The clock worked pretty well until we got back from camping last August.  That was when I noticed that the night time display no longer worked.  But it was summer and not really necessary. I found it easier to sleep without the glow from the clock. When September rolled around with earlier wake-up times the alarm still beeped so we didn’t replace it.  Then in the fall, we realized that the clock no longer charged the ipod.
     Pat thoughtfully bought a new alarm clock for me for Christmas.  Our son Brian, the electronics whiz, was home.  He noticed the new clock under the tree and asked what had happened to the previous one.  We explained about the light and the inability to charge the ipod.  Brian laughed, “It sounds like your clock isn’t plugged in.”
     “Oh, no.” I argued,  “That isn’t possible.  The time was always right and the alarm went off.”            
     Brian explained that our clock has a backup battery which would keep time, but go into a mode which saved electricity when there was a power failure.  The night light wouldn’t work, nor would it charge the ipod.  I dismissed his idea because I could not imagine that a small battery could last for months.
     Pat went upstairs to plug my gift in.  That was when he discovered that Brian was correct.  The first clock had not been plugged in.  It had continued to faithfully wake us each morning and loyally keep the time without the benefit of being plugged into a source of electricity since August.
     Paul tells us in Ephesians to walk circumspectly, redeeming the time.  As we look ahead to a new year I ask you to consider the time.  Consider the moment and season you are in.  Consider who you are and who you belong to.  Immanuel, God with us, and within us.  The Great I Am, in our past, our present, and our future, meeting us exactly where we are.  He knows our every need.

Today is the day that the Lord has made.  

Lord, you have been our dwelling place


    throughout all generations. 

Before the mountains were born
    

  or you brought forth the whole world,
    

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

A thousand years in your sight
    

  are like a day that has just gone by,
    

  or like a watch in the night.

Teach us to number our days,
    

  that we may gain a heart of wisdom. ~ Psalm 90:1-2, 4,12

     A back up battery of faith will only work for so long.  Now is the time to plug into the power of the Holy Spirit.  Reset your clock.