Precious Time

If you're like me, you often complain about not having enough hours in a day. So in this hectic, time-starved world world we live in, today should have felt like a real gift; because today we turned our clocks back and miraculously picked up one extra hour.

How did you spend your time?

Perhaps you slept in a little longer, or did a few more things around the house. Or, maybe you forgot about the time change until you saw your cell or computer clock an hour off.

As for me...I found myself thinking about the Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying". It's the story of a man in his early 40's who found out he had just a short time to live. There's one line in that song that really affects me: "I spent most of the next days, looking at the x-rays and talking 'bout the options and talking 'bout sweet time."

Although I loved, lived with and walked alongside a man who heard those words when he asked "how long do you think I have, doctor?" I can't begin to know or understand what it must feel like to know your time is limited. I only know how I felt, and knew I could never fully empathize, although I wanted to.

God, I tried to.

What I do know is that the problems we had that seemed insurmountable just hours before we heard those words were forgotten. They melted away. The days, weeks and months that followed had me noticing everything about time. And every detail in the world around me...imagining how he was looking at the colors of the trees, the smell of the flowers and the smiles of his children.

The clock was ticking. Time became precious in so many ways...and it became our enemy in so many others. When we had to "fall back" that year, I recall listening to people complain about losing an hour of sleep. I thought of him losing an hour of living. And me losing an hour of him. Even an hour became so precious.

Thinking of it makes me not want to take anything for granted. It makes me want to remember that pain, if only because in doing so I can appreciate the now. What I have. The people in my life that I love. My girls. My friends. My family. My co-workers.

There's a little boy in Barberton fighting for his life right now. Strangers, friends, neighbors and an entire community are trying to offer Josh Metzger and his family emotional, financial and prayerful support. That is, of course, a wonderful thing. We can do what we can do...but what no one can give him is more time.

All we can do even if for a day or so, even for an hour or so, is slow down, look around and appreciate time with the people who are important to us. Live every hour to the fullest. Be a Tigger and not an Eeyore. And try, as the song says "to live like you were dying." Because life really is so short. And time really is so precious.

Even an hour.


Note: Josh Metzger has an inoperable-fast growing brain tumor. You can make a donation to the Josh Metzger fund at any Fifth Third bank in the Akron area to help the family defray medical costs.