I don’t remember when I first realized how great a calendar was. I mean one of those good ones that had a new picture each month and Holidays in red, which meant I got off from school. It had interesting stuff, like the day something big happened or a famous person was born. I watched as my Birthday drew closer because I liked getting a year older, gifts, and maybe a party! I kept a close eye on the calendar as summer vacation approached and looked forward to playing outside every day. Time passed oh so slowly back then.
When I joined the Air Force, I needed my calendar. I had to know when my work was due and missed appointments could mean serious trouble. As I got promoted and became a supervisor, my calendar kept me and my people out of trouble. Though it seemed like time passed slowly at the time, my calendar finally said it was time to move on with my life.
My whole career with the State Department depended on my calendar. Those Diplomates weren’t as organized as the military, so I had to be. I not only had to plan out my training, vacation, and work schedule for as much as a year in advance, when I arrived at one new assignment, I had to clean up the mess someone left me from not properly using their calendar. Time passed so quickly there wasn’t enough room on my calendar for all I had to do.
Now when I look at my calendar it’s hard to believe how fast time passes and it’s been seven years since I retired. My calendar is filled with medical appointments, prescription refills, and tasks from my wife (Honey-Do list). Holidays are no longer a big deal since I’m off every day. I don’t bother with nice calendars filled with information, because they are used up so fast, and I need those big blocks for my reminders. If I don’t write it down, I will forget. Yes, I include Birthdays, but many of those are to remind me of friends and family who have passed on.
I still need my calendar for now, but I look forward to the day when I don’t. How will you ever get by without your calendar? As is says in the hymn, “When we’ve been here ten thousand years, Bright, shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, Than when we first begun” and that means time will no longer pass. I won’t need reminders because everything will be so clear. No more birthdays or funerals, so how could I not look forward to that?
But you will be dead, and your life will be over! No, that is when life really begins, and that life will never end. I will be perfect in body, mind and spirit and will stay that way! Most importantly, I will be with the GOD who, “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). That means He really wants me to be there and sacrificed to make a way, not because I’m so great but because He is! And to be with JESUS, who died on the cross to pay for my sins and took stripes for my healing, is more than I can imagine right now. You see, He has already done “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20 KJV) because “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8 KJV). BTW, if you are not born again when you die, you won’t need a calendar either. You will be paying for your sins and that time won’t pass either.
Wayne Lance (2023) – That’s Good News to Share!