It's About Time: Real Time

What is it about time?  Twenty-four hours a day. Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. We all have the same amount of time in a day to spend. It seems to be slipping away day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second. I've been asking myself many questions about my time.  How am I spending it?  What do I spend my time on? Who do I spend my time with? Where do I spend my time?

Time off

    Time out

            Time in

                Timeframe

                    Timekeeper

                        Timecards

                            Timesaving

                                Timelines

                                    Timeless

Around my neck of the woods were are waiting for the grass to grow.  We measure time by the seasons and we predict that the climate would be warm(er) than it is this April. The cattle are hungry and no grass will grow with the cold temperatures. It gets a start and then frost comes and burns it back.  We are buying time, hoping the grass grows as we empty the hay from the barn.  It will get warmer, and the grass will grow. Maybe the grass will grow just in time. Do we wait it out and let time keep ticking day after day, or do we sell down the herd? Time will tell.

Time is ticking away...tick...tick...tick

Driving to a game

The music industry has had some popular songs including "time" in the title.Sometimes we wish we could go back in time.  Turn the clocks back to the "good old days."  What are those anyway? I remember when my boys were little.  The days of diapers, naps, and sleepless nights.  But now it is rushing from one sporting event to another, staying up late to finish geometry, and getting up early for another practice.  The tires on my truck see more of the road and I see less of my pillow.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Quality time together is what we all crave and need. It costs me my time. Lots of time spent in the truck driving. We spend time together as a family and these moments are the memories I want my kids to have with them when they leave the nest. Memories of Mom and Dad sacrificing their time to make time for them.  We can buy our kids all the latest gadgets but really what they want is quality time with us. 

The music industry has given us many songs written about time.  List of 100 songs with "time" in the title. Here is a list of 10 of them:

1. “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston

2. “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

3. “Love me Two Times” by The Doors

4. “Time is on my Side” by The Rolling Stones

5. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is?” by Chicago

6. “Time of my Life” by David Cook

7. “Any Time at all” by The Beatles

8. “Too Much Time on my Hands” by Styx

9. “Big Time” by Peter Gabriel

Baseball Practice

10. “One Time” by Justin Bieber

The list goes on and on. You get the point. I keep going back to the beginning of time. To the One who created time, holds time, and makes time. What is time anyway? Can you define it? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, time is defined as a) the measured period in which an action, process, or condition exists or continues: duration. b) a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events that succeed one another from past through present future.               

To me, it seems that time is both passing me by and standing still.  It's as if I can see my life the way I think it should be happening but I'm outside of time.  I'm on some sort of timewarp frozen in time.  It's like a giant stopwatch is running on one lap but I'm stuck on the sideline just watching. I don't want to miss anything.  I want to be present, at the moment, right now enjoying it all.  That is what I intend to do -- cancer and all.  I want to live in real-time. Carpe Diem. 

How to Slow Down Time (Taken from this article)

Outside of taking a trip into space, and away from Earth's gravity well, there is a way to slow down time – at least from your own perspective. This has nothing to do with the physics and nature of time itself, but how fast or slow life feels to each of us.

Some researchers say that exposing yourself to new experiences or environments can actually make time seem to pass slower. This may be to do with the amount of information our brains have to take in and process – when we're young or learning something new, the world seems to slow down. As we get older and get into a routine, the days and years seem to speed by.

Unless you have a spacecraft, none of this is going to make you age any slower (sorry), but knowing that time is a little more bendy than many of us think it is can be a reminder that we have our own ability to alter our perception of how fast the days pass - if only a little.

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

So maybe this second go-around with cancer will help me to slow down time in my own life.  If I can only remember to take more time to process everything that is happening!  We have a fascination with time. So much to do and so little time. Speaking of time I am almost to my surgery time! Many have asked how they can help me and my family out and I wanted to share that here. I am thankful for health insurance and a job to support the grand expense of surgery, hospital stay, doctor fees, and the list goes on.  We will have travel costs of fuel and lodging. The hospital is 3 hours from home for me. If you feel like helping that is great, but please do not feel obligated.  I appreciate your kind words of encouragement and prayers. For those of you that are local (in Missouri), we do have a few folks helping to arrange meals. Please send me an email if you want to help with that.  Another idea is to send gift cards from local restaurants.  I will not be driving for about 4-6 weeks and will rely on my husband and oldest son to pick up items for our family.

A savings account has been set up in the name of Anna Luhers at West Plains Bank and Trust. Deposits can be made in Anna's name to any local area branch. If you are not from Missouri you can reach the bank here: WPBT  Any questions regarding financial donations please reach out to Lisa Pruett @ lpruett@liberty.mvbt.k12.mo.us.  

"To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

LMS Dance "Hollywood Night"