IT'S ABOUT TIME

These are wild and crazy times in which we live. Often the financial news seems like a roller coaster ride. Yet the last several weeks have been more like the Dare Devil Dive, a 10-story freefall. How low will we go?

Now there is the gasoline shortage. Last weekend I was the guest minister for ReserveWorship at The Reserve in South Carolina. Friday evening I went by 12 stations without any gas available. When I got up on Saturday to prepare to leave for the 300 mile round trip, I did not know if I could find gas for my empty tank. Thankfully, Saturday morning I found gasoline, even after waiting in a long line.

Cissy had a delightful surprise waiting for me when I got home on Sunday. Last year she took a special watch to the jewelry store to be repaired for me. It was a watch that my father bought in Switzerland after the end of World War II. When Cissy and I were in Lucerne, Switzerland a few years ago it was interesting to try to trace his steps where he bought this watch and a beautiful music box which I also have now.

The photo above looks just like the watch, except the second hand of mine is black. The receipt shows he bought the watch on April 23, 1946. Click on it to see a larger size.

My father returned home from the war and I was conceived a few months later. During my childhood and into my adult years my father wore this watch every day. Finally it stopped working and he laid it aside. When he passed away over four years ago I got the watch as a keepsake.

Finally the antique repair parts were found, and the watch looks great and runs with perfect time. When I wear the watch I feel so honored that I am carrying around a precious memory of my father.

On February 8, 2008, I wrote about another timepiece I got after my father's death. The blog entry is called "Modern Antique." You can find the story by using the search box in the upper left corner.

Speaking of time and memories, I am reminded of several songs. One is “Time in a Bottle” recorded in 1972 by Jim Croce. He died at the age of 40 the next year in a plane crash. He recorded the song for his newborn son. Below are the lyrics with a video of him with his son and his song playing in the background (patiently wade through 30 sec. of commercial and click skip ad).

If I could save time in a bottle
the first thing that I'd like to do
is to save everyday till eternity passes away
just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
if words could make wishes come true
I'd save everyday like a treasure and then
again I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
to do the things you wanna do
once you find them
I looked around enough to know
That you're the one I wanna go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
and dreams that had never come true
the box would be empty except for the memory of how
they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
to do the things you wanna do
once you find them
I looked around enough to know
that your the one I wanna go thru time with



I am reminded also of a song recorded by Chicago in 1969, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” I have always liked the brassy sound of the group, but I confess I used to think the lyrics seemed pointless and the final verse somewhat despairing.

Does anybody really know what time it is
(Care) Does anybody really care (about time)
If so I can't imagine why (Oh no, no)
We've all got time enough to die
Everybody's worrying (I don't) I don't care (about time)
Life is much too short
About time (Oh no, no) I don't care

Finally, I realized the point of the song is that time is much more precious than something you measure with a watch or chronometer. The words for "time" in Greek make the point. One word is chronos, which is time in general; the "time in which anything is done." The other word, kairos, is the strategic or "right time; the opportune point of time at which something should be done." A window of opportunity would be kairos time.