LEARNING TO ENJOY THE GIFT OF TIME

SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai.

All wonderful God gave humanity one of the greatest gifts to overcome any obstacle in life. It is a very simple gift, one that defines the very existence of creation that includes all of humanity as well. This gift is one that even God chooses to limit God from having in the manner that it manifests in creation. This gift is called time.

God exists only in the nowness of time. In other words, God is a God of the present. But humanity has something unique in its own manifestation of time. It is the tri-moments of time that manifest in a perichoretic manner. Time always begins as the present. But the present has the gifted possibility of being a present that is past, and a present that resides in the future. The past embodies a present that was, and a future that was imagined. The future also embodies a present that was, and past that has become distant.

The gift of time is humanity’s tool for the instantiation of a saturated hope for a better tomorrow. Time as past evokes in us gratitude for memories worth being proud of, and memories worth being healed from. Time as present evokes in us an embodied presence that allows us to enjoy the simple realities of life that are all around us. It evokes a response of thanksgiving, and a turn to repentance when it is needed. Time as future opens up for us an enduring ritualization of hope, and the dream for a better future. It is a possibility for new beginnings. it is the opportunity for the imagination of new insights, and an embrace of an unfolding wisdom. It demands of us a response of creative awareness of a God who renews all things. The future is the home of a saturated gift of freshness. This is why the future is the radical place of encounter with the Spirit whom we eventually encounter when the future empties itself into the present. Hence, we pray, Come Oh Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Nothing is so precious a gift as that which is time. In time, God becomes one with us. In time, God heals all wounds. In time, God offers a covenantal promise. In time, God keeps all promises made. In time, we each come to know ourselves in the abundant possibilities God made us to be.

Let us enjoy this gift of time and make the best out of it. Enjoy!