Time Stays, We Go
The English poet H.A. Dobson once wrote:
“Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go”
At times in the last few months I’ve felt like time has been racing by, or rather to put it along the lines of this quote, I’ve been racing through time. In March I turned 31. In April our baby was born. Now she’s just over 3 months old. In a couple of months, I will have lived in this house for 2 years. In another couple of months after that I will have been married to my dear wife Jenn for two years. These experiences: being a 30-something, having a baby, living in this house, and being married to Jenn numerically occupy a tiny sliver of my life. They would hardly show up on a pie chart showing all of my days in this world. And yet, these are monumental, central, life-changing things. Things I wouldn’t give up for the world.
Oh, how life changes! A few short years ago, I was sitting in another house which I didn’t own, hadn’t met my wife, didn’t have a baby, was a 20-something, etc. I’m flying through time!
Notes On The Times
Living in a really old house, there are a lot of things to do. I’ve never been a particular handy guy (as Jenn and her family will readily observe), and we normally outsource the vast majority of handyman-type repairs and enhancements. However, I say with a bit of smug pride that I have on more than one occasion been able to repair a recurring issue with our dryer, taking it apart and applying a well-executed fix. The most recent fix seems to be enduring, and it is my hope that I’ll never have to do it again! 
I am also making some progress in letting my wife experiment in moving furniture and walls around. Well, for now the walls will only be moved around on paper!
I have really been enjoying getting back into poetry more deeply, both in terms of reading and writing it. I feel like it sort of opens up a new depth in looking at things, and I’ve enjoyed how poetry just sort of springs out of things you see, things you do, and places you go. Poetry is very much about tinkering with words and noticing beautiful things, two things that are very delightful!
Just recently I returned back from a vacation in Maine, we went to visit Jenn’s parents. It’s beautiful out there. In one sense, it was a crazy trip. We travelled 1617 miles there and back with a 3 month old! And yet, though it wasn’t easy at every point, it worked out really well. We had a great vacation and the driving was way better than expected. It was an amazingly relaxing vacation and I enjoyed watching grandma and grandpa totally enthralled with their little granddaughter (and vice versa). But there is a time for good things to end, and all vacations must come to an end–so we had to leave. It was bitter sweet, because it was so good to be there and hard to leave grandma and grandpa, but it was also good to get back home safely!
There are so many other things, but this will have to do for now, I would like to move on to reflect on things I have to be thankful for!
Thankful Reflections
These thoughts lead me to remember how richly blessed I am. God sent His Son to be my redeemer and Christ has redeemed me through His glorious gospel! And I have a wonderful, loving, beautiful wife who is such a wonderful companion to me and is so firmly committed to growing in her spiritual and home life and so lovingly cares for me and our daughter. Being married to her has been wonderful! And through easy times and hard times we’ve been through, I’ve seen tremendous growth in our relationship as the two of us learn to care for each other better. By the way, she’s a terrific cook among the many other talents she has, and she also makes a darn fine berry crisp–which I’m enjoying as I write this.
We have a cute, healthy, and quickly growing (both in size and in ability) daughter who is a true bundle of joy. I have great friends and family who are so wonderful in all their different ways and so loving. I also must mention that I have a wonderful church family. We are imperfect community, but deeply committed to the gospel and have a wonderful pastor who is labouring faithfully in gospel ministry. I also should note that over a year ago, I quit a previous job and began a new one, which I’ve really been enjoying! It has been a wonderful improvement in work situation for my family and I! I really enjoy the work I do and the people I work with. And in the area where we live, we’re able to live in a remarkable amount of peace and security. I really do like living in Essex, Ontario, Canada, even though it may not be the most spectacular or “happening” place in the world.
What We Lose As Time Rushes On
As I march through time, so quickly it seems at times, I must also balance out this joy and contentment with some degree of regretful reflection over mistakes, lost opportunities, neglected opportunities, missed duties, and relationships that never grew. The hustle and bustle of life has a cost. We miss out on other things. When we chose to use our time in one good way, we also by default chose to not use it in a plethora of other good ways. I must say that as happy as I am with the ever busy march of time and the good things it will bring, it is sad to think about the things that have been excluded, missed, and neglected.
That said, time also gives prospects of change, renewal, revival, and just new opportunities in general. The cycle of time is in some ways a hopeful cycle. And time gives space for the right things in the right time. As Solomon said long ago:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”