The Right Time

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

It never mattered what time we told Michael was bedtime. The response was always the same: "But I haven’t played." His eyes could be at half-mast, and he still wanted more time to play.

Over the years whenever any family member had a job to do that he or she didn’t want to start, the comment was always, "But I haven’t played." The same comment came after a happy day that was about to end.

As the years go by and I see all the exciting things I’ve never had time to try, or do, I want to tell God to stop the clock. "Hold it, God, I haven’t played yet." I haven’t gone hang gliding or ridden in a balloon or bicycled through Holland. I haven’t written the great American novel or found a way to cure a broken heart.

Time is running out — and there’s still so much I want to do. Then I remember the way that Ecclesiastes continues, the part that my happy little boy exemplified in every way: "I know that there is nothing better ... than to be happy and enjoy. ... it is God’s gift" (3:12–13).

I don’t know God’s time schedule. Could be that I’ll ride in that hot-air balloon yet.

Beyond the Door
1. God’s time — that time we all live in — is created for each one of us special children of God. Reflect on this thought: God has created time just for me! Wow — how does that make you feel?

2. Have you ever prayed the author’s prayer: "Hold it, God, I haven’t played yet"?

3. What haven’t you "played," or done yet, that you’d like to do?

4. When can you make plans to do what you answered in Question 3? Who can help you accomplish it?

5. Who helps you with your dreaming in life? How do or could you help others dream about their "playing"?

6. Sister Carol Frances Jegen, a frequent contributor to Lutheran Woman Today, says that playfulness is one of the components of Christian spirituality. How do you think she might be right?