What time is it?

We are all time travelers moving in one direction—it this true?

What if the past isn't as fixed as we think? Can we reframe or reinterpret situations and experiences that were painful and then, rise above them? What about the present, the now? What are you doing with your life? Your dreaming? Your problem solving and, do you take present time, to celebrate, even the small victories?

I don’t know if you have ever stopped your time long enough to consider the many ways of looking at time. Consider this short list below. You might be interested to know, I created this short list, while I was waiting for something. I was determined not to waste time (wasted time, yet another category!)
 

• Time out. A term well known to small children after they have done something wrong. A parent gives their child a ‘time out’. I wonder how many parents offer a purpose statement for the ‘time out’? A “time out” also applies to adults when life has not gone their way. Life has interrupted and offers a pause, a ‘time out of sorts’. The question is, “How will I use this season in my life?

• Chronological time. Time moves from moment to moment; time is sequential and follows a timetable or record of things. On the chronological life calendar children are born, parents die, new jobs are started. Life is very chronological, if you pause to think about it.

• Physical time. This aspect of time is, ‘what is’. Physical time is about a person’s present reality.  It is now. It is actual. There is no wishing for yesterday or tomorrow. Physical time is represented by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, decades and before we know it, our bodies tell us we have run out of time. Every person has been given their own supply of time and everyone’s physical time ultimately has a ‘dash between the dates’.

• Relative time. You have heard the phrase, ‘its all relative’. This certainly applies to time. Here is the kicker, ‘your time may not me, my time’. A wife may think it is time to remodel the kitchen. Whereas the husband responds, “This is not the right time.” What may seem ‘relative’ in terms of problem solving or making a crucial decision to one person may be a non-negotiable to another.

• Redemptive time. This is a ‘window of precious time’ where events, personalities, things past and present and future line up and God seems to step in and say, “It’s time”. Redemptive time may not always be our first choice. Redemptive time may not be convenient. But in this spiritual perfect storm, ‘all things work together for the good’ for those whose gaze is focused on the One who sees the big picture.