When time is moving fast, we often move fast with it.
Some seasons feel like we’re holding on; others, like we’re letting go.
Then there are moments when both appear to be true… when we lean onto a solid shoulder to let go.
It doesn’t take long in life to realize the importance of connection.
Years of youth are filled with growing pains; years of parenting are filled with helping our children grow.
In aging, we adapt to silence… we slow down, looking fondly upon the faces of loved ones in pictures who once regularly sat at our table.
Our mind becomes a memory book that fades like old photographs.
Painfully and beautifully, the heart ages differently and is capable of feeling emotions tied to details that the mind has long forgotten.
It’s a fountain of youth of sorts… and we may not even realize it until a song brings a tear to our eye or a certain view allows us to let out a sigh we didn’t even realize we were holding.
Indeed, we are all our ages and stages, all remembered and forgotten that have brought us to this day.
At times, we may linger in front of the mirror, surprising ourselves in how much we’ve changed in such a short time.
But who can measure time?
It is both with us and beyond us.
Perhaps the question is more about what we believe and what we do not believe, as both inevitably guide us.
For all that is out of our control, our eternity is a personal choice that no one can take away or make for us.
All will face physical death, but many live as if they’re already dead, choosing to surrender to a dying world rather than a living Savior.
Whether they feel unworthy or believe they are sufficient on their own, they often do not fully understand why they struggle to lean on God’s strong shoulder.
Some cannot call a miracle a miracle because they need more proof that God exists.
In looking at a sunset, a newborn … in experiencing an unexplained healing, provision, or timely word … they offer probable causes, data, and dialogue that suggest the power of man or nature is greater than that of God, who created both.
Sadly, many close their hearts to the very One who can unlock peace.
In this, many feel perpetually overwhelmed and undervalued.
Others mollify those who exhibit faith, as if it were merely a self-help coping strategy.
Being a Believer doesn’t mean we are never overwhelmed or feel undervalued. The difference is that when we lean into the power of God’s character and His Word, we can discern what is a lie from what is truth – what is motivated by fear versus what is motivated by faith.
Believers trade death for a life redeemed that begins now… not in some far distant pie-in-the-sky place or time.
By grace, as demonstrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are free to love and live today as children of God. TODAY.
Christ’s love kept Him on the cross; He stayed there for you… for me… not because of what we could do for Him, but because of His desire for us.
Redeemed by grace, upheld in faith, and heartened by hope, we cannot help but reflect the love that Christ bestows upon us to others.
In relationship with Christ, time is as eternal as Love Himself.
When time is moving fast, we often move fast with it.
Some seasons feel like we’re holding on; others, like we’re letting go.
Then there are moments when both are true… when we, as Believers, lean into God.
And in these moments, we know where we stand and Who stands for us.
In this, death is defeated, and LOVE wins.
This column was initially published by CherryRoad Media. For more inspirational articles, follow ©Tiffany Kaye Chartier.