I was nine years old when the Rolling Stones took to the
airwaves with the slow ballad, which boldly proclaimed, “Time is on my side”.
Even now, I can hear the music in my mind as though it was playing on the radio
in the next room. The song was about a lost love, and the confidence of a
reunion, but the line, time is on my side, became the mantra of my generation.
We could accomplish anything we wanted with whatever time we desired to invest
in it, because time was on our side. The world was big back then and the
possibilities were endless.
Now, my children have families and careers of their own. My
children’s children are growing into active kids with minds of their own. The
students I taught are out in the world doing their own grown up things. The
repetitious phrase, “Time is on My Side,” doesn’t feel like it’s true anymore.
In fact, the opposite seems true, “Time isn’t on my side.” It is actually
working against me, and I had better get on the ball, or it will pass me by all
together. There are things that my limitations will no longer allow me to do.
But those limitations do not hinder me from doing other (really good) things.
This is not an “I’m getting old,” lament but rather a time
is precious proclamation. I read an article about men in nursing homes and the
regrets they had in common. They wished they hadn’t worked so much, spent more time
with their families, and took more vacations. They wished they had invested
more in people and less in the pursuit of profits.
Here is what I am trying to say:
Don’t wait for lost love to return. Pursuit it.
Don’t watch life pass you by. Live it.
Accept a new challenge. It’s not too late to try.
Tell people how much you care about them. They are just as
lonely as you.
Stop being held captive by bad people, and difficult
circumstances. You won’t change them, so change you.
Try something new. Dare to expand your horizons.
Make a new friend. Work at making their life better.
Pay attention to your surroundings. Enjoy the sounds God
provides in nature.
Know that there are still people who need what you have to
offer. Find them.
Perhaps a new mantra should come from Tim McGraw’s song
entitled, Live Like You Were Dying.
Live Like You Were
Dying, Tim McGraw
Live Like You Are Dying
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Ephesians 5:15-17
