Time- for Amy

Some people have a love affair with clocks. My middle daughter is deeply in tune with the passage of time. She knows the minutes intimately. She feels the seconds moving and for her, I think, they move steadily.
Others may not feel the flow of time but they are keenly aware of tiny marks that indicate seconds. I have seen these people. They look at the clock and instead of seeing a clock they see a million tiny pieces. One glance and they can tell you all about the thing. They know what color it is. They know that second hand is slightly bent. I look at these people in a sort of puzzled awe.
I have looked at the clock in my kitchen a million times and I have no idea what color it is.
This is the beauty of my God. Not just that we are all created differently but that each tiny variation is valued and needed and on purpose. The word says “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Oh praise Him that He has thought out each detail and not being content to just focus on the details, He has designed an intricate, dazzling universe. The same God that created each blade of grass set in motion the processes that allow the grass to grow. And, one day, He chose to create me. Then after (or before or during-His time is even trickier than mine) He created me, He placed me in this moment in time and space where a comment triggered a thought.
See, school is about to start. When school starts, stress runs high and things fall apart and in my job as principal I’m supposed to manage all the falling pieces while teaching, scheduling, tap dancing, and redirecting. Time runs from me as fast as a laughing toddler from his momma in Wal-mart. And, in my worst moments, I want to scream in exasperation as toddler time peeks around the corner of the aisle just out of reach and giggles.
Then, a teacher, gifted with an eye to details, tells me we need to recoup a minute. A minute, she says! A minute when all around us things are raining down, she cares about a minute! And then I realize the toddler, laughing just outside my reach, isn’t time. It’s God. God cares about every minute and every person. God has orchestrated this whole beautiful crazy world with its beautiful crazy people whom He absolutely adores for this one minute…and the next “one minute”…and the next “one minute”. He takes joy in our brief moments of understanding. The moment when we truly realize that we are His creation, that each of our flaws, imperfections, talents, and skills are all His to use for His kingdom.
Thank you Lord for those who are obedient to do your will even if your will is only that each minute be noticed and accounted for. Because Lord, in that act of obedience, another act of obedience is born and dear Lord, for you to allow such a person as me to be obedient to You is the greatest gift imaginable.