What is it about life that makes time go by so fast? I got to work this morning at 5:30 am, and I just looked, and it is 9:30, and I am wondering if I have gotten any real work done. Where does the time go? I was in a conversation the other day, and my buddie said thirty years ago. Immediately, I think he is talking about the 70s. I suddenly remembered two songs my cousin Kurt showed me at his house: “My Sharona” and “Le Freak,” and he started laughing at me because 30 years ago, in 1994, I was only off by 20 years. Time flies by.
During our quarantine, I listened to a podcast by a guy whose name I can not remember, but the content is still in me. He had a guest with him, and they were discussing life. What did the guest do for a living about his girlfriend, where he grew up, and where his parents still living? The host did what all podcasters do: paint the audience a picture.
At this point in the show, the tone began to change in a direction I did not think was planned. The host asked how far away he lived from his parent, and the guest replied that it was a four-hour drive away. The host then asked how often the guest sees his parents each year. The man excitedly proclaimed he drives up twice a year. This is where the conversation turned and became real.
The host asked him how old his parents were, and his reply was that they were seventy years old. The host pointed out that the average life expectancy in the United States is 76 years old. After sharing that fact, he said he would only see his parents twelve more times. This statement went deep into my core. My dad lives many states away, and my daughter and her family live on the other side of the world.
Immediately, I became a mathematician. How many more times will I see my dad? How many more times will I see my daughter and grandsons? The reality of how temporary our lives are hit me hard, and how fast time passes is daunting. It has been four years, and this podcast is still burning in my mind. Life is short.
This week, we start in 2 Timothy in a series I titled “The Reminder.” This is Paul’s final letter, written to Timothy, a young man he loves. The letter is a fantastic reminder to us 2000 years later and is filled with truth and wisdom. I hope to see you this
Sunday at 9:30