Doug Creamer: Time flies

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 13, 2024

By Doug Creamer

Why does time move so quickly when we are on vacation? I just had a little time off from work and it seems like it went by so quickly. We stayed busy most of the time. Time doesn’t fly by like that at work, but it sure moves quickly when you get some time off.

A chunk of the time was devoted to travelling to visit family. It is always nice to catch up with family and to enjoy some good food. I spent one glorious afternoon sitting on the beach with my sister, who lives just a couple of blocks from the water. We shared about our busy lives. We laughed about all kinds of things. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day on the beach.

There is so much that has to be done before we travel and then there is always much to do when we get home. That time flies by so quickly. I also scheduled a couple of doctor appointments while I was off…more time evaporated. I could have scheduled those doctor appointments for another time, but that makes work weeks feel so busy.

The Fourth of July fell during my time off. That was a great day that went by too quickly. My family gathered at my brother’s house for our annual feast. There were burgers and dogs along with all the traditional trimmings. The best parts were enjoying a meal with my brother and sister, spending some time with my parents, and cheering for the fireworks.

I stayed behind to help my brother clean things up. When everyone was gone I asked my brother if he wanted to shoot a game of pool. My brother is competitive and very good at pool. I mainly enjoy the time we get to spend together. Basically, my brother always beats me unless I hit a particularly hot streak. I lost the first game. He accidentally hit the eight ball in on the second game, so I won. Then fate pulled a fickle trick on my brother and allowed me to win. I was up two games to one. I quit while I was ahead. I am not sure if that is a rare event or if it ever happened before, but I can assure you that I will not let my brother forget it.

I am really glad that I got to spend some quality time with my family on both sides. I realize that we are all getting older and that time truly does move quickly. Maybe it is not just vacation time that moves so fast but it’s time in general. I think we have a choice in the midst of time’s movement. We can choose to enjoy and connect with others and learn to treasure the time, or we can let it slip through our fingers and miss the memories.

My Dad pointed out that my beard is mostly white. I told him that I am getting older. My brother and I talked for a little while about some decisions we were making and he said he appreciated my wisdom. The passage of time does afford us some wisdom and perspective if we will glean it along the way. We have to choose to learn the lessons of life as time moves along. Age is no guarantee of wisdom; we have to acquire the lessons.

It is hard for me to understand that time does not exist in heaven. God saw my birth before it happened and He has seen my ending. He has an eternal perspective that is not restricted by time. When we pray about something and it seems like God is not answering, it only seems that way to us because we are living in time. He has answered our prayers and has worked everything out…we just have to wait to see the results.

Whatever situation you are facing right now that seems to have escaped God’s attention… let me encourage you that God knows every detail of what is on your heart. It’s on His heart too! He has already acted on your situation. He sees it as done, fixed and complete. He sees you on the other side. He sees you as overcoming. He has already answered your prayers. I know you can’t see it yet…but the key word is yet. Trust Him, believe in Him. We live with time and yes, I do believe it flies until we are waiting for an answer from Him. Fear not! Your Father loves you and He will come through for you. It just takes a little more time.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.