And 2010 begins ...

In God's wonderful and glorious universe, there is an inverse reaction that I find particularly baffling ... which is and of itself somewhat of a miracle since I am so vigilant about avoiding "baffles". Not to be confused with "waffles", incidentally - which as far as I'm concerned deserve their own special place on the food group pyramid and to whom the concept of "avoidance" has rarely, if ever, been applied. No, I'm talking about ... what was I talking about?? Oh, yeah ... one aspect of the universe I find particularly baffling ... and that is, the older I get (thank you, Lord, I am still getting older) the faster the sands of time seem to move through the hour glass of life.

When I was a kid, I remember the sand that measures time dripped slowly, one grain of sand at a time - often excruciatingly slow around the holiday season. "How many days 'till Christmas?", I would ask my mother through my gritted teeth, always looking slightly away and tilting my head as if to protect myself from the excruciating answer that was sure to follow. "Just be patient, dear," she would answer, as if she were completely comfortable to wait, while as far as I could tell, time was actually going backwards just to taunt me and screw with my fragile, young psyche. How could she be so calm? Didn't she realize that in a moment of freakish phenomenon, clocks and calendars had actually reversed themselves, the time-space continuum was being assaulted and all of humanity could only be set straight by the arrival of a fat man in a red suit ... that wasn't Uncle Doug?

Well, now I understand. You see, it is as true as gravity and as regular as the Democrats shooting themselves in the foot every time they finally get power ... time moves faster the older you get. Now, all time is measured in a unit that is universally understood and often quoted - the blink of an eye. I don't really know who set up that system, but I think they had a real genius for getting right to the heart of the matter. No matter your age, gender, race, nationality or political affiliation, we all blink, so it applies to everybody. Kudos to the ancient thinkers who made that determination.

But when you're young, a blink is just that - a blink. It is a particularly short period of time, evidenced, for example, by the known fact that on December 20th each year, Christmas always looked like a bazillion blinks away.

But as an older person ... just checking before I continue this thought ... yep, I am officially "older" ... a "blink" apparently takes approximately 4 days - which is a bonus for eye hydration and UV protection, but a drag when that's how long the family gets to stay together laughing and hugging, giving gifts and holding the baby. I blink and it's "Hi, honey - so glad you made it down safely," and I blink again and it's to hold back the tears as I see them drive away 4 days later. "Wait," I quiz myself, "What just happened? Can we have a do-over or can I apply for some sort of an extension? Will it help if I write a letter to someone?" Nope - the blink is a cruel master. The blink claims all and controls all. The blink is an extension of God Himself. My Mom understood that when I queried her in my youth, and that is why she was able to stay so calm when faced with the need for time to pass as quickly as possible ... it already was passing as quickly as possible, I just didn't see it.

But now I do.

So we begin a new year, and the blinks begin to pile up under a new banner entitled "2010". Of course we already know a ton about what's going to happen in 2010. Nostradamus has little on me when it comes to prognosticating that some people will do incredibly wonderful things, and some people will perform despicable acts that are almost beyond comprehension. I predict that in 2010 the earth, as a planet, will continue suffering the pain of supporting a species that disregards it's value and takes for granted it's bounty, and, as if to produce a specific response, the planet will again reach out somewhere and violently reclaim its rightful place by showing it's ferocity and proving again that if mankind's imagined control over the planet isn't replaced by restraint and companionship, the future will not be as bright as the past. I predict technology in 2010 will continue to advance and the advantages of it's most glorious components will be secured by a few, and offer little substance to the many ... but fortunately I will be one of the few as my supply of gadgets will grow and solidify their dominance over my life. In 2010, as it was back in 10 B.C., power brokers will continue to whip up their power bases in order to maintain their existence no matter how counterproductive their efforts may be towards our country as a whole, and people who believe that fact trumps emotion will continue to be shot down ... and shouted down ... in the political arena.

But what else do I know? I know God is on His throne and everything is going according to plan - His plan, fortunately, because if it was my plan is would be a disaster. And I know that for every moment man's inhumanity to man is displayed, the exact opposite is happening somewhere - particularly in America, where charity and history have a long and wonderful relationship - and I am so proud of my family and my country for being part of that.

I know God will be disappointed in me, and I will deserve His disapproval, but with grace that is incomprehensible to the human mind, He will continue to love me. Man, that's huge, you know, because without His love, I am nothing, and with His love, no matter what, I am always something. In 2010 I will face the judgement of many, but I will fear only the judgement of He who made me. So if you didn't make me - and you didn't - then just save any harsh judgement you may be considering for someone else. In 2010, I hereby officially declare myself rubber and everybody else is glue. Actually, I don't care if you are glue or not ... I just want to be rubber. Yeah, that feels good to get off my chest! "Hey, you bleeding heart S.O.B.!" Boing! Just practicing ...

And I know that this year, instead of just accepting that life is a blink ... maybe I can turn that into a wink ... and a twinkle ... and a laugh ... and maybe even a moment of acceptance that shows up because the chance for rejection is reconsidered and re-decided. Maybe I can even use my senior citizen super powers to understand that the blink is coming, and enjoy each eyelash flutter. Maybe I'll even add a raised eyebrow or two to this year's blink ... couldn't hurt, could it?

Look out, world. I'm feeling good about God, about my family, about my health, about life. It's a New Year and I am living it with the people in the world I would choose even if I got the chance to start over and pick again today. This year I don't want to just "attend" life, I want to participate in life and see what shakes loose. When I cross the finish line at the Pearly Gates I want to know that I left it all out on the playing field of life, and there's no better time to get on with that agenda than right now. Jesus has my back (and He has yours too, incidentally), so what's to fear? What are we going to say 365 blinks from today about the year 2010? There's only one way to find out ... get thee behind me, 2009!! I see another blink coming and I need to get cracking!!

Love, blessings and Happy New Year,
Bill