An Hour Lost...

    Tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM we “lose an hour” of time.  Well I guess we don’t really lose an hour of time, but in order to keep the calendars, computers...the stuff of life...in order, we turn the clocks forward and all 60 of the 2-3 am minutes vanish.  The result is that the world’s clocks remain aligned with the world’s rotation around the sun, the days go back to being darker for a few weeks, the light shines a bit longer before night falls, and we lose an hour of sleep.  The adage reminds us that we “Spring forward, and Fall back,” but when it comes to the springing forward, the tendency is for us to want to fall right back into bed.  Whenever we go into or come out of Daylight Saving Time, I reflect upon the whole concept of time, including how I use it.      
     We are given a finite number of seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a year, and years in a lifetime, and like many things to which we can become acclimated, we simply expect the next bit of time to be ours.  But we know that that is not true.  We never know the day or hour when our time on earth will be done.  To reflect upon such things can become depressing... depending upon how choose to deal with it.
    It is always interesting how folks respond to discussions about death and dying, just as it is interesting to see how we respond to times of stress and change.  In these, and all situations, the ways in which these stressors affect us are directly correlated to how we choose to respond.  That is, if we choose to dwell on them and allow them to weigh us down, we risk falling into a downward spiral of emotions, thoughts, and actions.  If we choose to simply ignore them, we can delude ourselves into acting as if it will just go away.  However, if we choose to acknowledge the stress, reflect upon it, and realize that it can be a way in which God is speaking to us and teaching us how to live life more fully, we emerge as those who recognize and receive the kind of life Jesus offers us. 
    There are many, many factors that guide our responses.  Our response to each stressor can be different just because of the nature of the stress.  We approach each situation we go into differently, and that affects our choice.  Even our own health and well-being plays into how we approach such situations.  But again, what is important is how we allow those situations and stressors to affect us.
    As a pastor I am privileged to journey within and beside the lives of folks who are dealing with the realities of life.  Many are joyful and many are difficult, but what amazes me about the human spirit, is that there is an innate magnetism that connects the human spirit with the Holy Spirit.  What I have learned is that, those who are healthiest emotionally and spiritually, are those who see to connect themselves with the Holy Spirit, for when they do, they are able to place the stressors of life in proper perspective.
    To give an example, I have journeyed with many a parishioner who have suffered from devastating and lethal diseases.  Such situations are each unique, and they are each hard, but I will say that some are easier than others.  In fact, some are even a blessing to be a part of, even though the situation is dire. 
    Those that are blessings are those where the family and/or the parishioner is able to connect with God and allow God to bring the comfort, healing, and peace that is needed.  They are the ones where the sick one is ministering to those around them.  They are the ones where one can see clearly that God is at the center of how they approach their dis-ease, and when God is at the center, everything changes.  There is hope.  There is joy.  There is love.

    In the sixteenth chapter of John’s Gospel Jesus is preparing his disciples for his upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection, and part of this discourse centers around naming that they will weep and mourn, while the world will rejoice.  But then he says that their grieving will become joy.  He says, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” [John 16: 22]
    Jesus is telling them not to remain in their grief, but to look for God at work bringing hope, joy, and resurrection.  But in order to receive God’s gift, they will need to choose how they will approach what is to come.  For most of them, it was not until they were on the other side of the resurrection that they understood.  It wasn’t until they went through the struggle and saw where God had led them through, that they realized God’s invitation to approach every situation by turning and trusting in the Spirit.

    We are in the middle of the season of Lent, a time of introspection and examination.  It is a time of living more deeply and learning to go through the struggles.  Often Lent unearths the hard stuff, and it certainly reveals the difficult aspects of the faith, such as Christ’s suffering and death and the truth of our sin, but that’s the point.  Lent is a time to go to the depths by Christ’s example, looking to God, trusting in the Spirit, and placing all our chips on the truth of the Resurrection.
    In just a few hours, we will “lose an hour of time,” but the result of that “loss” is that we enter a new period where the days are longer, the light is brighter, and the season of Spring brings new life.  In “losing the hour” (yes, even the hour of sleep), we go through a change and emerge on the other side, renewed, refreshed, and ready for the season ahead.
    May this Daylight “Saving” Time be a time equal to Lent...a time when we might just be saved and renewed for all time.

What is the Spirit beckoning you to go through so you might lose it and be renewed?