Time...

OK...who's that stranger (well, half of stranger) looming in the sidebar and replying to your posts, you ask?

Don't worry. It's still me. The cute little toddler from before. I'm just all grown up now! (And still have two eyes, don't worry.)

Yes, time as gone by.

It reminds me of that insurance campaign of the cute commercials. My seven year old has a keen sense of humor- pretty mature for her age, I think. And she shares the humor in that slogan,

"Life comes at you fast..."

You know- the one where the father is sweetly pushing his preschooler on the swing, and suddenly he's a chubby 18 year old who knocks him flat on the ground.
Our private joke is that whenever I pick her up and feel the strain, she says that to me now and giggles.

It's a sobering thought, even though we all laugh when we see the commercials. Talk about truth in advertising! Life does have a way of speeding by like a runaway train at times.

I remember my parents listening, sometimes, to their stack of LPs
(records to those of you under 35... giant, CD-like black disk things to those of you under 25).
There was one song that always got to both of them...

"Turn around and you're two...turn around and your four....
Turn around and you're a young man, going out of the door."

There were other verses that I have forgotten, but I remember that they got all misty and quiet whenever they heard this song. To my young ears, I thought..."That's a weird thought. I don't simply turn around and I'm a new age..."

Oh, but it's true. I so understand now. For my own life...and that of my children. I do simply turn around and they go from a nursing baby to someone who is riding a two-wheeler.
And it only gets faster from here on out...

It's distressing to me, when in my head I'm a young girl, myself, to look in the mirror and find a new line on my face almost every week. "How can that be? Where did that come from?" my thoughts holler, forgetting that I've been on this earth for 43 years now. Wow.

Yes, life does come at us fast. So, I guess we are to embrace each moment and enjoy the little things. And if your children are still young, don't let the frustations of this busy time interfere with your vision to see your little one's face light up at a new discovery...to feel thier warmth as they give you a spontaneous hug.

And when we have those times when we completely feel overtaken by life's relentless speed, remember that this time on earth is but a blink of an eye in light of eternity. This isn't all there is...there is more! And if Christ is in your heart, your eternal life has already started....you just will pass some day from this home to the next.

Yes, life does come at you fast. Thankfully, we have Someone to hold our hand for the journey as we savor this precious time on earth.