An Hour Lost

Time changes tonight and we lose an hour at 1 am when it jumps forward an hour. I don't know why we change time 2 weeks later, or maybe the US changes 2 weeks earlier, but it's my least favourite time of the year since I enjoy my sleep so much! Interestingly, as I prepared to write this post, the first thought that came to my mind was that I was sad to lose an hour of time spent with my friends.

I just returned from an evening of laughter and games at the apartment of the new academic dean and his wife. They arrived about two weeks before I did and quickly slipped into the routine of life. Their ministry is welcoming people into their home and even before they found an apartment, they were playing games Saturday evening in the decrepit social room on the second floor of the dorm. They'd packed several games in their limited luggage, one of their must-have items, it appeared, and promised us that when their shipment from their previous post in Africa arrived in port, there would be a whole closet full of games to choose from.

We arrived somewhat late for American standards, hurrying up the cement steps past a ferociously barking German Shepherd that belonged to the neighbours living on the ground floor. It was nearly 9 pm but they were waiting for us, with popcorn and juice and special Easter cookies to share. We gathered around the dining room table and exchanged mission life stories as we broke the bread of friendship literally and figuratively. Earlier that day we'd participated in a sacred Communion service and now we ended the day with a meaningful time of camaraderie as we ate, laughed, and played games.

In the brief sundown vespers we had tonight to close the Sabbath, Pastor N. asked us to share a blessing from our week. I was first to raise my hand. I'm thankful for the church family and the good friends I've found here. Even though I've only been here a little over a month, I already feel at home and I'm thankful for that. At the end of a very rough week, when I'd found myself struggling against discouragement, all I could remember was a deep sense of gratitude for the dear friends I'd found. I had indeed come home, even if it was a different home than the one I'd lived in as a teenager. For home is not a physical space; home is found in the hearts of those who love you and share their lives with you.

As I thought about losing an hour of time, my mind began to connect the emotion to a different type of loss. In Sabbath School we discussed the final chapters of Revelation and how difficult it will be to see those we loved, who chose not to follow God, standing outside the gates of the holy city. Imagine how God will feel on that day. Those He created, because every soul that breathes does so from the breath God has given him, are standing there resolutely rejecting His gentle entreaty to choose life. Just as a mother whose son has committed a horrible crime still loves her son because he is a part of her, I believe God also mourns the loss of His children. It says in Revelation 21:4 that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. But who will wipe away the tears from His eyes? Jesus wept so weeping is Biblical and attributed to God.

I want to learn how to pray for those I love. I don't want to lose time here on this earth with them but of even greater value is time spent together in the new earth. Over and over the Bible emphasizes the difference between those who choose God and those who choose sin. When Jesus returns, I want to be in the first group and choose God. But I don't want to be alone. I want my family and my friends to be there with me too. Not an hour, not eternity lost but together forever with Jesus.