TIMEKEEPING!

I was on top of it. Or so I thought. Armed with Outlook and its scheduling calendar, I had it all timed. Down to my departure. Everything planned—the completion of every chapter of my thesis; indeed, every section and sub-section of every chapter had an assigned date of dispatch and delivery to my supervisor, Prof. Watson.

There was only one problem. I was never on time. Either I had scheduling difficulties with the prof—he or I was traveling or otherwise indisposed—or he wanted more work done on some aspect of the writing, another revision and iteration submitted.

I was completely thrown off my schedule. This introduced not a little angst into my otherwise placid life! Alright, I’ll confess: I was disappointed and disheartened, weighed down, worrying that I might not finish my PhD before I hit 50. (For those of you who have been taken in by my youthful appearance, that’s not too far away!)

And then it happened. Sometime after Thanksgiving 2006, I was given the green light. Prof. Watson agreed my progress was sufficient to warrant my wrapping things up by next summer.

You know what that did to my meticulous timekeeping? While I didn’t quit laboring on my writing, I completely quit caring if I missed my picky goals, persnickety thresholds, and puny limits. Hey, I was guaranteed to finish in July! It was auntheticated, assured, ascertained by the boss himself. No more clocking my work or counting my words. No, more calendar or computer program keeping precise track of my progress. With the goal decided, whatever brick, tomato, or egg that came my way could be handled with equanimity, sang-froid, and nonchalance. The end was in sight and I was sure of finishing.

A pox on timekeeping! A hex on all clocks!! I’m outta here!!!

That’s when I realized that, as a Christian, my entire life ought to be lived that way. For us, as believers, the end is in sight. The winning-post draweth nigh. The destination has been promised. The target has been bullseyed. We’re outta here! Poxes and hexes on all momentary light afflictions, said Paul.

For momentary, light affliction
is producing for us
an eternal weight of glory
far beyond all comparison,
while we look not
at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen;
for the things which are seen
are temporal,
but the things which are not seen
are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17–18

Therefore, why the angst, why the anguish, why the anxiety? Instead …

Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice!
…. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:4–5

Settled, signed, sealed. No doubt, no despair, no despondency. The end is coming and soon! No, not even death can stand in the way of our relentless and unremitting movement towards that glorious outcome of final victory in Christ.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law;
but thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55–57

Let’s keep gazing ahead, to the bright land “that is fairer than day”, where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more death.

Therefore, beloved,
since you look for these things,
be diligent to be found by Him
in peace, spotless and blameless.
2 Peter 3:14

Not clocking ourselves. Not timing our moves. Not disturbed. Not desperate. But peaceful. Peacefully spotless. Peacefully blameless.