Sunday :5th of June 2005

From the Desk of the A.P.

(i.e. the Assistant Priest - not the Associated Press)

Is it not hard to believe that another school-year has had it! All over, and where has it gone? I'm sure both teachers and students thought it would never end! Those preparing for exams may be the exception. Children ask and ask again "are we there yet?" Time is a very relative thing. Two minutes can seem long or short depending on which side of the bathroom door you are on in the morning!

So much for the year and for the day; but what about life? You will have heard the old chestnut: 'when you are young time crawls, later it walks, for the adult it runs and when we begin to ripen it flies!'. A farmer friend of mine was fond of the Latin quote: 'tempus fugit, et mors appropinquat' (Time flies, and death approaches) For the human, at whatever stage of life's journey, the sands of the hour-glass continue to run.

It's worth more than a passing thought because time is the gold dust with which we buy eternity. Christ put it like this. The Philosophy of life that He revealed tells us that God made us to know, love and serve Him here so that we would be happy with Him forever in Heaven. He has even given us the exam paper. 'Forever' means 'without end'. Life, long or short comes nowhere near fitting that description. .

How often we hear people saying "just passing the time". Indeed we can all plead guilty. We say we have no time to spend with God in prayer. He gives us each day 24 hours. Could we find it in our hearts to give Him back more than we do - just chatting to Him about what is on our mind, lifting up to Him our own lives and the lives of those of who would 'call us friends'. 'More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.'

Time is like the sped arrow - it does not return - gone for good. And so life slips away, right before our eyes. Reflect and plan; use it sparingly!