HOUR

With Covid-19 forcing us to stay home, not go to work, and not venture out further than our nearest grocery or drug stores, some of us have a few more hours in each day.  For example the drive time to work and back is a bonus time.  The time taking the kids to dance and sports is bonus time.  The time getting ready for church, or the theatre, and getting there, and parking and walking in to find your seat... that's bonus time too. 

So now maybe fewer people are complaining that  “There aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done.” An hour during our corona confinement can feel very strange if it’s not what we are used to. God only knows all the good that will come out of all the hours we now have in one day, in one spot.

An hour only goes fast or slow based on what we are doing or how we are feeling.  An hour is a long time when you are waiting to do something.  Especially if you are standing in line six feet apart on the sidewalk outside a store social distancing.  Some stores can only have a maximum number of shoppers at a time so the line ups feel three times longer than they really are.  We are judging by the length of the line and not by the time shoppers are going in and coming out. 

The good part is that there's a lot of time to visit with others in line and that helps the line move faster.  We are all in the same boat. 

Let’s face it that hour is still an hour. The nice thing about an hour is that it is 60 minutes.  That can be divided evenly into halves, thirds, quarters, tenths, sixths, fifths, fourths, or even ones and twos.  What a wonderful number 60 is that makes up a whole hour. 

Did you know that most of the advertising you watch on TV is only minutes long?  When the host of a talk show says to the guest, "We have one minute left, is there something you would like to leave with our audience?"  we panic and think, "One minute?" And we can't believe that several sentences are said, and in plenty of time to end the show properly.   
  
In terms of time management a good rule of thumb is to over calculate the time required to do just about anything.  That way unforeseen distractions and interruptions won’t create panic or anxiety as the time goes on.  A report on the news was saying that those working from home were actually putting in about three hours more than they clock in on their jobs.  Maybe that is including what would normally be drive time.  Maybe with jobs being lost right now, there is a motivation to prove worth to remain employed.  
 
Time stops for no one. We all get the same amount, per every day we are alive on earth.  So there's really no difference between  “Hurry up! We only have an hour.”  and “Great we have a whole hour.”  The length of time never changes.  It's just our attitude and perception of how much time we need at the moment that makes the difference. And an 'hour' doesn't always refer to 60 minutes of time.  Sometimes it's talking about the time of an event. 

And consider this promise from Jesus: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth." Revelation 3:10  Hmmm... that kind of describes this world wide crisis.   

So I'm making part of my 'enduring patiently' having fun... as much as I can. Try it!   

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