pause
Tick. Tick. Tick. That’s the clock. Measuring time in seconds, minutes, hours, days… Time that we schedule and manage and spend. The Ancient Greek word for this time is chronos.
Take a minute to feel the chronos passing by.
But there is another kind of time. It’s the right moment for the right action. It’s God’s time – and our time with God. It’s when Eternity meets our experience. The Greek word for this sense of time kairos.
Breathe in and out, sensing God’s presence, and enter into kairos – knowing that God has words you need to hear today.
listen
“Now the one who had received one valuable coin came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest grain where you haven’t sown. You gather crops where you haven’t spread seed. So I was afraid. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. Here, you have what’s yours.’”
Matthew 25:24-25
think
How ugly! Servant #3, whose boss has just given him a cool million dollars, accuses him of being a hard man who benefits from work he doesn’t do. No wonder he gets fired in the end! Was the servant angry because he was the one doing the work? Or was this about his perception of the master? Instead of seeing the money as evidence of the master’s confidence in his abilities, the steward focused on his own fear. Rather than feel the master’s generosity, he expressed disapproval. And what he most feared actually happened.
Does our perception of a person or situation ever lead to our acting in a way that makes things worse? Do we judge people by their accent, skin color, address, clothes, classes they take? Even worse, do we fail to engage with them and lose out on a relationship or opportunity?
How can we be open to people we meet today or situations in which we find ourselves? How can we connect with others and share God’s generosity? Can we make our perceptions of others today closer to God’s?
Kay Zimmerman
pray
Oh God, help me today to see the world as you do, and recognize all people as your children, blessed with worth and value. Help me to be open to your surprises today and to realize the time that I have is your generous gift. Amen.
go
Thank God for today.
Open yourself to God’s surprises.
Do what is most important.
Accept that you can’t do everything.
You are blessed and loved.
