Losing Time, making it count!

Have you ever stopped to think about daylight savings time? The original idea of Daylight Savings was supposed to be a way to utilize daylight and save energy. New Zealand scientist George Vernon Hudson and British builder William Willett were the first ones to present this idea. George Vernon presented a paper that proposed a two-hour shift forward in October and a Two-hour shift back in March in 1895. The idea was taken seriously until 1905 when William Willett revised that idea with one including moving the clocks ahead 20 minutes each Sunday in April and moving them back 20 minutes each Sunday in September. It was never passed in Parliament before Willett died in 1915. in 1916 during WWI, Germany became the first country to adopt DST as a way to save energy for the war. The USA took on this idea in 1918 but was repealed 7 months later. Franklin Roosevelt reintroduced it in 1942 and was forced to continue through 1945. From 1945-1966 there were not specific rules, which caused mass confusion. in 1966 the Uniform Time Act was established. The savings time would start the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. During the 1973 oil embargo, the US Congress ordered a year-round DST which lasted from January 1974-April 1975. After the energy crisis was over in 1976, the United States DST schedule was revised several times over the years. Starting in 1987 to 2006, the country observed DST for about seven months each year. The schedule we now run on began in 2005 when the Energy Policy Act was introduced. and we have been following this steadily since 2007.

In the fall we turn the clocks back and we gain an hour for one day. One extra hour. I remember in my early twenties, that extra hour meant an extra hour of karaoke or shooting pool or throwing darts with friends. I realize looking back how often I took that extra hour for granted. What is something I could do with an extra hour that could have benefitted someone else besides me? I then have to stop and wonder what Jesus and his followers would have done with that extra hour. Instead of wasting it playing games and having fun with my friends, what if I would have volunteered that hour to help care for someone in need? What if I would have spent that hour walking the parks in my city picking up trash to care for God's creation? What if I would have used that one hour as Sabbath time, spending it in God's word and in prayer with God? If I had done that, maybe I wouldn't have made some decisions in my life that halted my spiritual growth.

Then we have the spring forward. We lose an hour in the spring by setting our clocks ahead an hour. I know I groan when that Saturday night/Sunday morning rolls around knowing I lose an hour of sleep. I feel weird for so many days while my body adjusts to it. Then I think: I am currently in the season of preparation, the time of Jesus's walk towards the cross. Jesus knew his time was coming to an end. Jesus dropped hints to his disciples that He would soon be taken from them. He knew. What would have happened in those final days if He would have lost an hour? What would have changed for Him? What would have changed in the ways He taught his disciples? In all times of day and night He was open to the possibilities of serving others. He performed miracles during the time of Sabbath as observed by fellow Jews. He fed thousands of people and traveled to share the true message about love and grace. He rested and observed time in prayer with his disciples and on his own. The night before He was betrayed, He knew his time was running out. He knew with every hour, he had less time. He presented the bread to his disciples. "This bread in my body broken for you. Take this and eat this in remembrance of me." After the bread was passed around He grabbed the cup. "This is the cup of the new covenant. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Drink this and as often as you do, do this in remembrance of me." His last moments before his arrest He spent praying in the garden. He never took time for granted, no matter what his situation was. Yes, we can say it was because He was divine. He was also human. He understood the value of every life. He understood what happens when we are in a situation we can't seem to escape and time feels like it is standing still.

I now realize something I have taken time for granted my entire life, time. I have had loved ones leave this world. I watched patients die, and knew they lived their life until the very last moment. Jesus never stopped teaching, even when He was being tried in the courts. Jesus never quit living, even when He was hanging on the cross. Until his last breath, He managed to show love, compassion, forgiveness, grace and mercy. Why can't I do the same?

How can we learn from all of this and learn to live every day, making each hour, each moment count?