Time

I wonder if you have ever seen the beastly metal grasshopper is called Chronophage, literally meaning ‘Time Eater’.  It lives in the Corpus Clock and rocks along a golden dial as it devours another hour until the clock strikes with an ominous clonk of a chain dropping into a hidden wooden coffin.

“It is terrifying, it is meant to be”, announced its creator, Dr John Taylor. “Basically I view time as not on your side. He’ll eat up every minute of your life, and as soon as one has gone he’s salivating for the next.”

The clock is a fascinating piece of art and science, but do I really believe that time is my enemy?  Do I really need to keep rushing ahead so that I too am not eaten up?

Sometimes I think John Taylor is right, when I rush to beat the clock or feel driven to make time count.  But then I remember...

I remember when my children were small: time was so precious. I never seemed to have enough of it. Children grow up so quickly so I valued every minute. I especially loved the night feeds, and then watching them sleep in my arms; long eyelashes, steady breathing, soft skin... Time stood like an eternity of wonder and I never wanted it to end.

But then again, last week, early in the morning, I hired a kayak and went out to explore the lake on my own.  The breath-taking wild beauty of creation all around.  Once again, joy welled up as I fully entered, in every sense, into the wonder of the moment.  

I knew then that it was possible to unmask the beast and beat time at its own game.

"Time is a game played beautifully by children”  (Hereclitus, Fragments). 


When you think about it, we really do have all the time in the world.  It doesn’t have to be terrifying.

It helps me to see that time is a gift given by the Giver of all good gifts.  As with all good gifts, it can be ignored or appreciated.

Is time on my side? Yes.

But I have also seen that if I pay attention, time hides a mystery. When I pause to enjoy the moment, I find a window into eternity – a view into the timeless beauty of God.  

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the human heart."

                                                                                     - Ecclesiates 3.11

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Just wondering?

What helps you to stop and enjoy the moment? Photography? Writing? Listening? Or something else?