Dave's Deep Thoughts

I am very confused.

You see, I have this gift.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this......

I am a time-ologist

I could be on the beach

with no clock within miles of me

and I would be able to tell you within 10 minutes, what time it is.

As far back as I can remember,

I've always been able to know the time of day.

Being a time-ologist has as its ups and downs.

It always gets me to dinner on time,

but also lets me know that I am late for a meeting.

But my gift has been compromised.

Lately it's not a matter of knowing what time it is,

I don't even know what day it is.

My inner clock not only gauges minutes and hours,

but also seasons.

There are certain things I do at certain times

I close my pool in mid October.

I plant my flowers the week before Mother's Day.

I take down my Christmas tree the weekend before the Super Bowl,

and I always have my Shamrock Shake on St. Patricks Day.

Like most people, I love the autumn.

It's my favorite time of the year.

It's the time of year

where you receive the gift of an extra hour.

It's a time of the year,

when you wish those warm, sun-splashed afternoons

would last a few more hours.

And it's the time of year,

when each day tells you

that you will be receiving less, not more light.

Like most people,

each season has its rituals.

Rituals help us keep our inner balance of time.

Well, my inner balance was rocked last week

This is what happened.

WEDNESDAY

October 26

I was purchasing candy for trick-or-treaters,

as always, the week before Halloween.

That's when my time-o-meter started going haywire.

I always taste test my Halloween candy

for the safety of my little ghosts and goblins.

As I was taste testing,
I was also opening my mail.

I received a birthday card.

My birthday was three weeks ago.

It's not that I didn't appreciate the card,

I just didn't know what to do with it.

Like any normal person,

birthday cards always are put on display

for one week,

and one week only.

After some in depth thought on the matter,

I decided to put it on display for a day.

This was the beginning of my time crisis.

THURSDAY

October 27

I received a lovely gift from a dear, dear friend.

My friend made me chocolate, peanut butter eggs,

just to tell me she appreciated my friendship.

She is a great friend.

The eggs are the best candy ever,

far better than the Halloween candy I was about to distribute.

They are also a highlight of my Easter celebration.

So I discarded the one-day old birthday card,

and got out my Easter basket,

as I began to package my Halloween candy.

I was starting to get the shakes.

FRIDAY

October 28

A package arrived at my house.

Oh good,

it was supplies that I ordered two months ago for my pool......

which I closed two weeks ago.

The outside temperature was now 41 degrees.

Anyone for a polar bear swim?

Feeling a little bit out of rhythm.

SATURDAY

The 29th of October.

Almost the end of my favorite month.

I woke up and looked out the window.

It was snowing.

Not just some early morning flurries that quickly melted, mind you.

It was SNOWING.

Big flakes, coming down at a furious pace.

Oh this can't last, I thought. It's October....

Oh, it could, and it did.

It snowed all day.

Traffic advisories to stay off the roads.

Power outages caused by falling trees branches

that were filled with changing leaves,

that were now burdened with heavy snow.

I felt like I should get some chestnuts to roast on an open fire,

but I couldn't get to the store.

And let's not even talk about the egg nog.

I tried to get my equilibrium at the end of the crazy day

by watching my football team.

That didn't work.

The game went into 3 overtimes.

I was beginning to realize that I was now in some time warp

of which there was no escape.

SUNDAY

October 30

Children were building snowmen

on their lawns to greet soon-to-come Trick or Treaters.

Church services canceled,

Halloween parades canceled.

Entire communities without power.

Halloween canceled in some zip codes.

.

I went out and built a snowman,

I used a jack-o-lantern for his head.

If you had asked me what was coming next,

a solstice or an equinox,

I couldn't tell you.

My head was spinning.

.

MONDAY

October 31
.

The snow was starting to melt,

just in time for trick-or-treaters.

I was driving through town

when I came upon this house.

It was laden with snow, cobwebs, and .............

patriotic bunting?

I went through my patriotic holiday mental file......

Memorial Day?

4th of July?

Spring Elections?

Flag Day?

Ahh....Veterans Day

two weeks early.

If I were a trick-or-treater

who was to come to that house

later that day,

I wouldn't have known

whether to have a snow ball fight

or to recite the pledge of allegiance.

These last five days have been rough for this time-ologist.

Life sometimes does that,

throws us off balance.

We are creatures of ritual,

of patterns, and of seasons.

But what happens when something interrupts your schedule,

your season, your life,

your world?

An unexpected death,

an illness,

a job loss,

a blizzard during your picnic......

As much as we want to know whats coming around the corner,

we don't always know.

And that can throw anyone off balance.

So what is a time-ologist to do?

Jesus ran into a few time-ologists in his day,

people who were worried about tomorrow,

worried about the unknown.

There are many things I like about Jesus.

One of them is his sense of humor.

Listen to these words he spoke

in humorous proverbian fashion to the time-ologist of His day......

Do not be anxious for tomorrow;

for tomorrow will care for itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34

Yes, it might just snow on my Halloween,

it might even rain on my parade.

But even if life's timeline gets confusing at times,

we are told that we only have to face life one day at a time.

The good news is that we have a Lord

who causes the sun to rise and to fall on each day,

and who lords each moment in between.

Now go out and get that turkey,

your fireworks,

and your Easter bonnet.

And don't forget to have a happy new year!

.