Losing Time

Last Sunday, as our corporate worship time came to a close, I walked from the platform to the lobby. I sat my Bible and my day planner on the small cabinet beside the exit door. For the next hour or so, I did what I usually do. I enjoyed conversing with people as they visited around talking with others, having coffee and slowly making their way to their cars to head off for the rest of their day.

As I was preparing to leave too for a lunch invitation I had received (Florence was still away), I walked over to the cabinet to quickly grab my things. My planner was gone. My Bible was still right where I put it, but the planner was nowhere to be seen. Of course, I started to look round for it and as others saw me looking they also joined in the search. We couldn’t find it anywhere. At last I had to give up the hunt because I had people waiting for me. I concluded that either a small child might have taken an interest in it (though unlikely) or someone had scooped it up with some of their stuff by mistake.

I took the time to call Wanda and asked her to please send a note out to our church family asking them to be on the look out for it, and to call if they found it. All afternoon I lived with what could be called a low grade panic. I was able to concentrate and enjoy the company of friends that afternoon, but I have to admit that all the while, there was a bit of nagging anxiety just under the surface… Would it turn up? What if it didn’t?

Most people who know me, get some sense of amusement over my ‘attachment’ to my ‘day-timer’. I take it with me wherever I go (yes, even the bathroom) and sleep with it beside me on the night stand. And the thought of it being lost was definitely creating ‘attachment anxiety’.

And of course, all the while I’m trying to analyze the situation and understand it for what it is and the implications for my life over the course of the next several months at least. I decided that I would be just fine, but that I couldn’t say the same for all the people I would disappoint. I could visualize them sitting and waiting for me to show up for something while I was off somewhere doing something else totally oblivious to the commitment I had made to be there for them… weddings, ministry appointments, meetings, coffee dates … not to mention all of the other information in there … phone numbers, contact information, scheduling issues, reminders…

Late in the afternoon I had a thought and called Bill and Ann. Ann graciously agreed to sort through the bag of garbage that they had taken home for quicker disposal. My hunch paid off. Apparently what had happened is that somehow it got bumped off of the cabinet and had fallen into the waste basket and then got covered up with other items. It is a little worse for wear with the coffee stains and all, but the information is all in tact and it is still usable.

And so, all is well in the world today now that I have my day planner back!

The whole thing got me thinking about how much my life is now about others. There was a time when I didn’t even need a watch, let alone a planning calendar. Those days are long gone. Today, and for a great many years now, my life largely consists of being there for other people. Yes, there is a lot of ‘weight’ that comes with that and I do take it very serious. I won’t lie to you. It is often overwhelming… phone calls… emails… visits… meetings … planning… speaking… caring … In some sense it is true that ‘my whole life’ is in that book.

Someone said, “Time is the essence of life - if you love life, don’t waste time.” The Bible puts it this way: “Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…”