The Cracked Acorn: Time Wings

What time am I afraid? I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3)

I’ve heard that time can move fast or slow. I think that it moves the slowest when you are in a store line waiting to pay. This would be at eleven in the morning on a weekday. I have been caught in these and try to reason it out and think that this is life. I do begin to wonder why this person is returning the third time to the car to ask their mother for more money. I notice that the lady in front of me has a fifty-dollar bill ready to pay for a pack of smokes. In the other line (this is a two-line gas convenience store), a patron is turning out his pockets to pay for gasoline. He is beckoning his fellow passengers to come in and help with the money. The person at the head of my line is using a credit card to pay for a loaf of bread. Wow! At card rates, this loaf may become rather pricey. (Oh, I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest. – Ps. 55:6)

When I finally pay and escape this store, I wind up in another line at the grocery store. No 10 or 15 items line here! You wait your turn. Carts are piled high. Food has not gone out of style. Are these people inviting everyone in the nearby town to lunch and dinner? I begin to think of ways to let management know that life is threescore & ten. I am there in life, so could I cut to the front line and enjoy my remaining time elsewhere?

The news media tells us that there are more senior citizens yearly. Well, I think that there should be stores for us. We should be able to have all the time we need to pick over the shelves without concern about those long lines. It is cutting into our time when we observe the weather and watch the clouds. Someone close to me will also mention that it is probably shortening my naps. I would miss the little ones. I couldn’t go without all the cellphone conversations that I am party to while in line.

When the cell plays its merry tune, the rest of us become invisible. “Yes, Aunt Bea is doing better if she would only take her pills and follow the doctor’s advice. Yes, I know the new Mercedes is in the showroom.” Parents are using the cell to track the kids at home, or are they at home? I can’t help but wonder if our native Americans did the same thing with smoke signals. Two puffs-your mother-in-law is here from Shawnee. Three puffs-are you on your way home? Four puffs-it’s buffalo again tonight. One puff- a long and slow one meaning “I still love you.”

Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? (Psalm 89:47)

So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. (Ephesians 5:15,16- The Living New Testament))

The customer ahead of me at the supermarket checkout counter had written a check for her purchases and was waiting for the clerk to package them. Instead, citing “company policy,” he asked her for identification. The shopper looked astounded, then finally managed to say, “But David, I’m your mother!” ( SUPERMARKET humor)