Everything I Know, I Learned...Ukázka

[IMAGE CONTENT] Time Is Fleeting It was torturous, but it was necessary. The week before Christmas, I found myself engaged in my least favorite activity of all things—waiting in a long, slow-moving checkout line at a department store. I had to get those last-minute items for the holidays, and this was the only time and place to get what I needed. All of us in line (there were six lines, to be exact) were trying to be patient - even cordial. But price check delays and discount-hunting patrons whose items were not scanning as marked made an already annoying wait insufferable. A few customers tried to distract themselves in idle chatter with one another; some played with their smartphones, while others (like me) just stood, stared, shifted their weight, and looked incensed - hoping to give a signal that we were in a hurry. Maybe some silently prayed that they could get out of there with their sanity. I know I was. Suddenly, an older man whose arms were full of what looked like would-be Christmas gifts dropped one of his items - a Timex watch in a plastic case. When it hit the floor, the watch went one way, and the case went the other. There were a few gasps among us and a couple of "helpfuls" who scrambled to retrieve and reunite the watch with its casing. But some of us in my general age range said, practically in unison, "It's a Timex. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking". The mood in the various checkout lines seemed to lift - for suddenly, we had a new connection - the recollection of the Timex ad slogan that ran on TV in the early 60's. That is, most of us connected. A teenager and a 30-something mom looked at us as if we were daft. We didn't care, for we laughed and began reciting other slogans of the same period . Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is - A little dab'll do ya - Ring around the collar. The checkout line started to move faster. Or at least it seemed that way. We all began exchanging pleasantries, and by the time I walked out the door with my purchases, I had quickly connected with customers and employees that I would probably have otherwise dismissed - if I had noticed them at all. It seemed ironic to me that time had been a connector - kind of like an extension cord stringing Christmas lights together on a tree. A watch sent us mentally back in time, which made the present time move fast and smooth. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Time is powerful and precious! It should not be dismissed, wasted, nor taken for granted. Early American statesman William Penn said it this way: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” How true! I want to be aware of and value the time God has given me. And like the psalmist, my prayer of dedication shall be this: My times are in your hands, Lord. (Psalm 31:15)