Three Times
I love going down to my son’s place on the prairies. We live in the foothills and see the mountains every day, but he lives where it is flat, grassy, with few trees and plenty of rabbits. While I am there I like to cook for the family. They have busy lives and getting a meal on the table is something I can do to help.
I am in the kitchen, now, watching the clock to make sure each part of the meal will be ready for 6.00 pm when the family comes together after a busy day. I put the timer on to make sure I don’t burn the cookies, the salad is prepared and the roast is slow-cooking in the oven. I am working in chronological time, measured and precise.
But now I have the opportunity to take a break and go for a stroll across the green space among the hedgerows and I am in a different kind of time. Outdoors, the air blows through my hair and I am free of the constraints of the timer. I have no need to count the minutes.
The first rabbit I see is right in the backyard. He darts under a bush. I cross the rough ground, avoiding the rabbit burrows that threaten to twist my ankle. I peer into the grass ahead. Is that a clump of pussy toes pushing soft greyish shoots up through the grass? No! It’s a rabbit! And, look! There are three others besides. I stop and stand still. They, too, stand still. The seconds tick by and time stands still. My eyes enjoy exploring the furry animals with their large, dark round eyes. My nose enjoys the damp, earthiness of the ground. My ears thrill to the trilling of the birds in the bushes. I take one step forward and the rabbits scamper away for shelter under the nearby bushes. I am glad I seized the opportunity of an hour or two while the dinner is cooking.
The rabbits led me to a third kind of time. There, in the stillness, I experienced eternity and I met with God’s Spirit. My heart soared in praise for the life God has given. I was aware of the mystery of life and knew God was behind all experience. I was in a different kind of time, immeasurable time, progressing on and on, growing and expanding forever. This is eternity.
It is clear to me that there are at least three different kinds of time. I budget time to accomplish a task, I seize opportune times before they vanish, and from time to time I bathe in timelessness.
by Andrea Kidd
