Losing a Watch yet Gaining Time, a gift of Life
My timepiece broke last week. Well, the truth of the matter is I went swimming with my kids and forgot about the phone (which I use as my timepiece and camera) in my pocket. Tuesday to Saturday with no timepiece to check the time - to see how long I waited for the train; to get annoyed at how late people arrived to meetings; to stress about how late I might be; etc.
That said, I wasn't oblivious to time. I had a general idea and rough estimates. Yet I experienced a feeling of freedom not watching the clock. I found the gaps of time between engagement became filled with productive thoughts for life, the faith journey and the congregation's growth, rather than anxious thoughts about how when things would start times and end times.
"In America, everybody has watches, but nobody has any time. In Uganda, we have very few watches, yet we have plenty of time." These words echoed in my head. About 20 years ago I spent a summer in Uganda. One afternoon my friends and I sat sipping tea with the teachers and headmaster of a primary school (where we spent our days playing games, singing songs, practicing English, learning Lugandan). I don't remember the exact context of the conversation, yet in my mind I can still see and hear the headmaster in his unhurried, soft-spoken way speak those words.
For a few days last week I reframed my thoughts, expectations, and experiences. Refreshing. Life-giving. Plenty of time. I grasped in a new way the truth of God's abundance, rather than living in scarcity. In God's economy we have enough time and enough resources to do all the things necessary for an abundant life.
Then as my phone arrived in the mail and I spent some of that evening restoring and reconfiguring it, I found myself a little resistant to do so. I lamented the loss of the loss of a timepiece because I had found time.
In the past few days I find I check the time less. I find myself more attentive to my own thoughts. I find myself more present with others.
This is a small Grace. The loss of a timepiece meant gaining time. A gift of life.
