Common Object Devotions: A Clock

Ecclesiastes 9 (v. 12)
The alarm goes off every morning and like a shot out of a gun we begin our fast-paced, rat-race. Most of us are always on the run finding it hard to get everything we have planned accomplished. It seems there aren't enough hours in the day, days in the week, and so on. My mom once had a "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon on her bulletin board about this that always made me laugh. Calvin, with a scowl on his face, states that, "God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things and right now I'm so far behind, I may never die." He's not alone. Time is a commodity few of us have much of. Often our "to-do list" only gets longer the more we check off. In our hectic and busy world it is all to easy not to have the time for what matters most. It takes a conscious effort on my part to put in a good quiet time and meditate on spiritual things, in fact that is one reason I started this devotional blog. Not only is it hard for most of us to spend quality time with God, we often neglect our families as well. Despite how difficult it can be to make ends meet, it is important not to miss out on what really matters in life because we only have, "One Life to Love." (That's the title of a powerful song about this dilemma by the band 33 Miles.) Plan time into your day for those that you love and on occasion get away from it all with a vacation, retreat, a day at the park, or whatever. Jesus gives us that example to follow. He often got away from the crowds demanding of his time and energy and spent time with his friends and with his Father. Most of us when we're on our death bed won't be sad regretting that we didn't spend enough time at work. Unlike Jesus, we don't know how long we have under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9 is a sobering reminder that life is short, verse 12a states, "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come." So today take some good advice from Ecclesiastes, "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love...Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Because, "You only get just one time around, you only get one shot at this..." ("One Life to Love", Clint Lagerberg and Jason Walker - 33Miles)