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Health & Fitness

THE GIFT OF TIME

Time marches on and it marches to its own beat. Night follows day. Weeks, months and years continue without any effort on our part. The calendar knows no master. 

We may manipulate the clock to give us more daylight hours several months of the year but we  cannot manufacture time. It cannot be created but it can be used or wasted. 

The world is divided into time zones and that always confuses me. I know the simple scientific  explanation but I still have trouble comprehending it. I have just returned today from a trip that included a total of nine flights that consumed almost all of four days. On our way back home the last day's travel began with a 6:00 AM flight and we traveled for a total of 22 hours but we arrived in Atlanta at 4:30 PM the same day (thus the reason why this post is a bit later than usual). 

It has been said that time flies when you are having fun. Of course, there are sixty seconds in every minute and sixty minutes in every hour whether you are enjoying them or not. But the level of our pleasure in the moment causes time to appear to either speed up or stand still. 

It does seem that times passes more quickly as you get older but a year is 365 days long (or 366 days every fourth year) no matter what your age. It feels like 2013 just started but a couple of days ago we marked the beginning of 2014. Where does the time go?

A heartbreaking news story this week told of a young woman in metro Atlanta who lost her life in an automobile accident just hours after her wedding. We have no way of knowing what the next day will bring. I am increasingly aware that each day is a gift and it should be used wisely.

Time is a treasure. No one knows how much of it remains for them in this earthly life so every minute of every day is valuable. I have heard the question asked, "If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?" That is a provocative question but it is equally important to consider what we would do if we knew we would live tomorrow.

Whether our life span is a few or many years, in the grand scheme of things our journey through this earth is brief. The psalmist offers a prayer that is appropriate for anyone: "Teach us Lord to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

Counting the days or years is not enough. We need to make every effort to make them count.

Jamie Jenkins

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