My dad once told me, “The days are long, but the years are way too short.”
It’s an interesting thing, isn’t it—the concept of time? It is always passing, always moving, yet never changing even though our perceptions of it alter.
Perhaps like me, in this time of quarantine and social distancing you have noticed the magnitude of time. For me, there were days when time moved quickly, and then there were the days when it seemed to stretch on and on.
What I have come to notice is that when it comes to time—the approach carries an important weight.
A couple of years ago my family was on a weeklong hiatus in the Smokey Mountains. So many memories were made and shared, but one that still makes me laugh to this day was while on a hike. We’d been walking for an hour when the trail leveled out and there was a break in the trees, which provided a natural gateway to the flowing river we had been following. Of course, when there is water around, I have to touch it. So I did just that, kneeling on an outcropping of rocks and plunging my hand into the icy mountain waters. Sucking in a breath at the cold, I shook the drips from my fingers on my sisters who stood nearby. The water rushed on, and we all used the water to cool off and clear away the sweat from our hike.
And then there was my grandfather. Papa, as I call him. He trudged up to the bank of the river and looked at each of us in turn. There was that mischievous glint in his eyes that I have come to know all too well, and as he knelt down to the water I suddenly knew he was going to do something different than the rest of us.
Sure enough, he told us he had a better way of cooling off. And without another word, I stood there in astonishment as my seventy-year-old grandfather knelt on a rock and plunged his head completely into the water. There he was, his body holding onto the rock; his head completely submerged, his gray hair billowing in the water.
He came back up with a whoop, water coursing down his face and onto his shirt. We all laughed as he shook his head like a dog. I am almost certain someone quoted a line from the movie Braveheart, “Tha’ will wake ya’ up in the mornin’!”
That, my friends, is my Papa. He has an enthusiasm and youthfulness that is contagious. So much so, that it is sometimes difficult for me to remember his age. He is aware of time, but doesn’t let it change him. In nearly all he does, Papa lives with passion and enthusiasm—and still does even as his eightieth birthday is fast approaching.
Now, as funny as all of this is, we have to go back to the true waters of life in the Word—for it is alive with timelessness.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Tell of His salvation from day to day.
–Psalm 96:1-2
Day by day we are to sing. All different kinds of songs. Songs of joy, songs of peace, songs of broken hearts, songs anchored in who the Lord is. No matter the day, we are to sing to Him—our hearts praising even as time passes.
Like my Papa, I pray that most of my days would be sung with a song of enthusiasm, a youthfulness that comes from within.
In many ways, I think we are to sing daily because it is preparing us for what is to come. One day we will sing forever around God’s throne—together, as one.
So, just for today, I encourage you to do something different. Perhaps outside the realm of what you normally do. Maybe it is getting on the floor to play with a child, entering their world of imagination without restraint. Maybe it is turning on some music and singing loudly even though you can’t carry a tune. Perhaps it is going for a walk and taking time to look at all the nature around you, and I mean really look, see things you haven’t noticed before. Or it could be dancing in the kitchen. Have you ever danced to your own rhythm while cooking? Please tell me I’m not the only one.
For today, simply be young in heart—sing about it and let the youthfulness of a joyful outlook wash over you like the waters of a river. Like Papa, step right up and dunk your head into the waters of the Word, for they bring life and with that life, a heart overflowing with song and timeless youth.
I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations. – Psalm 89:1