Time Doesn’t Fly

Week Two is in our rearview mirror. Figuratively, of course, because it’s been so long since I’ve driven the car, I’m not sure it will still run. Good news is that Ed and I haven’t killed each other yet. Bad news is we started our “social distancing” before the city made it official, so we have at least one more week before they give the go ahead to re-enter the world. Assuming they ever give a go ahead.

Our house is now seriously clean. Woohoo! The raccoons are still visiting and we’re still watching them on the monitor. I’m almost done crocheting everything I’ll need for CHRISTmas. Ed mowed the lawn because he couldn’t stand being inside. And I’m durn close to getting sick to death of cooking. I love to cook, but we also eat out at least once a week, so I don’t ever get tired of being in the kitchen. Ah…the good old days.

The most fascinating thing to me about all of this is time. When we were working, I remember looking at the clock and checking the battery to see if it stopped, because the hours just drug by, one agonizing minute after another. It always seemed like Friday would never get there.

Once we retired, it seemed like time moved at the speed of light. It was amazing, really. We’d get up on Monday and before we knew it, Saturday had arrived. And I had no idea where all the time went. Now we wake up on Monday, and about a month later, it’s Tuesday. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point. Time is dragging by. More so than even when we were working. I haven’t bothered to check the clock batteries, because all the clocks agree with the cable box, so I know they’re good. It’s like the earth has slowed down. And that got me to thinking.

Whenever something bad happens, the first question people seem to ask is, “Where is God in all this?” I think I know where He is. He’s up there, looking over the earth and smiling. Not because people down here are suffering, but because people down here are spending time with their loved ones. Those they can, anyway.

In today’s hectic world, there aren’t many families who spend two weeks with just each other. Work, errands, chores, socializing, and a myriad of other reasons keep families apart. That’s not happening now. Kids are off school, being taught by their parents. Families are together again. Too bad it took all this for us to get closer, but it certainly appears that’s what’s happening.

And in some ways, we’re getting closer to God. Because we’re turning to Him for comfort. The number of Facebook notifications and messages I get daily have doubled. And a good number of them are spiritual, uplifting posts. People are checking up on each other. Just to make sure they’re okay. People they haven’t communicated with in a long time. That’s a good thing.

When we start lamenting about being stuck indoors, let’s look at all the positive that’s coming from this forced isolation. We’re getting closer to each other and to Him. Where is God in all this? He’s showing us that what really matters is family and each other. Maybe if we’d listened to him a little sooner, we wouldn’t have needed something like a pandemic to show us that. I just hope that when it’s over we continue to care for each other like we are now. If so, it will have been worth it.