Lessons from a Clock

"Tick tock. Tick tock.
Who's afraid of an old dead clock?"
            - Peter Pan, in Hook


- - -

The battery went out in our clock today. It is a large, wooden clock that hangs over the sofa in our living room. I was sitting there directly underneath it, on the sofa reading a book, lulled by the sound of its parts functioning properly... and then nothing. The batteries were not old. I briefly entertained thoughts of somehow maiming the Energizer bunny, and then calmly proceeded to change the batteries. Good as new.

- - -

Such a small thing to happen. Entirely mundane. Every day, common, miniscule. You take the clock off the wall, you change the batteries, you check the time, you move on. But in that small thing, there was a bigger metaphor that came alive in my heart. It pertains to a thought I've been interrupted by lately, especially when I'm at work talking with particular customers, or when I'm sitting alone drinking coffee.

- - -

I keep on hearing from people lately that I am still so young. What's interesting is when I hear people say this. I hear people say this when I talk of considering options before making plans, or when I mention the word "budget"... when I talk about how I'm trying to eat healthy, and when I talk about things Tim and I would like to do someday, or places we'd like to see. Basically - I hear people tell me I am still so young, when they see me wrestling through the process of making wise decisions.

And I concede the point, that my birth date was 1984. I am young, according to the New York Times. My generation is very much still young... but have we been offered this gracious reply as an excuse from responsibility to make wise choices?

- - -

Someday, my clock - all of our clocks - will stop ticking. We will be no longer on this earth, no matter the range of our battery life (if you will)... and there will be a moment that is empty and quiet.

I will always be young, according to someone. There will always be people older, whether I am 27 or 100 years old. But this should not be relevant to the prayers I pray, the frugality I seek to practice, the dreams I commit to the Lord, the plans I am hesitant to make. My moments are still to be lived with just as much deliberateness and passion as if I were 100 years old and destined to pass from this earth tomorrow. Youth is irrelevant. Age is irrelevant. I seek the truth and peace that comes with a feeling of purpose in this moment, and a full understanding of who Christ is in my life today.

This means that I must continue praying for wisdom, as I make my plans. I need to continue trying to make wise investments with my money. I need to continue committing my dreams to the Lord, holding back no appeal as I ache for things to happen in my life. In Christ, we all are called to live freely but only as we abide in Him - with no regard for our age, but with all regard for the power and abundant life of purpose that He offers to each and every moment that our clocks continue ticking.

- - -

I am grateful for the small reminders that keep me learning who He is, and what He expects of us... what He offers us. Taking nothing for granted - especially not my youth - I can pray daily that Christ would mold my Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays into exactly what He would have them be. Let Him determine my steps, fulfill my dreams, open the doors of my life and lead me to where He is, offering fullness of joy. Regardless of my age. My battery life.

I am called to daily seek Him, in everything.

And sometimes, I might find Him - yes, may even hear Him - in the ticking of a clock.