Time Marches On and So Must We
Bethany Lethbridge
Have you ever wanted to freeze time? To encapsulate a moment forever? I have. Sometimes I think it would be nice to live in a world where it is always the present and never the future.
Throughout my life, there have been seasons that I wish I could remain in . . . I wish people and moments would be left untouched by time. Though I know moments can't last forever and time cannot stand still, sometimes it feels as though it can. Days and seasons can seem long, until they are over. Then they seem fleeting. And try as we might, we can never recapture what has already passed.
As I look in the mirror and stare at my reflection, the person looking back at me has changed. There are wrinkles forming around my eyes where the skin was once taut, there are grey hairs where they were once only brown, and my midsection shows the aftermath of having had three children. Time has taken its toll on me, and it is beginning to show. But whether I like it or not, that is as it should be.
Time marches on and so must we. God's purposes and plans continue and so must we. Despite the sadness, the pain, the unknown, we must continue to put one foot in front of the other and progress, not knowing what's ahead, not feeling ready for what is coming, but knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He has gone before us and is with us. Though we go through fire and water, He will bring us through. We serve a personal God who knows us intimately. Before we were born, He knew us. As it is written in Psalm 139:16, 'All the days ordained for [us] were written in [His] book before one of them came to be.' How comforting is this truth. We need not fear the future or resent the passing of time.
There is a time for everything. God is a God of order. He knows what He is doing, and He has accounted for everything. His timing is perfect.
Though we may wish to remain in a particular moment or season, God knows what is best. If we remain, we cannot move forward. If we remain, we miss out on what is ahead. If we remain, we fail to grow. If we remain, we miss out on opportunities and experiences that shape us and develop our character.
Therefore, we will not remain. We will move forward. We will hold onto the truth in Isaiah 41:13, which says, 'For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.' That is all we need.
