Leap Thoughts

Happy leap day! 😀 Here is some useless information. It takes the earth 365¼ days to rotate. Therefore, every four years we add an additional day to the calendar to make up for the extra time.  We are supposed to feel like we are taking a leap by adding this day; therefore, it has been dubbed leap day. The five million or so born on this day are called leaplings. And that’s more than anyone needs to know.

     So . . . what shall we do with this bonus day? 🧐 Um. Well. Surely, you know that it’s not really an extra day. It’s just that we humans love to use numbers to even things out.  Of course, leap day always falls on the 29^th—not an even number at all. But my good friend who loves numbers tells me it is a prime number, which apparently is a good thing. She talks with at me about prime numbers and factors and absolute value and composite numbers and ordinals and blah, blah, blah. I just smile and nod. (Sometimes I just nod. 😏) I think her favorite verse is “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”¹    Some people love numbers. I prefer words. And I really don’t care if we would be “out of kilter” if we did not leap. 🙄 And don’t get me started about Daylight Saving Time! 😠

     Although God invented the day and the night, we humans are the ones who invented time keeping and calendars. We love checking our watches and keeping score and counting things. Quick! How many clocks do you have in your house? Please include all appliances/devices/phones and actual clocks (even if they are not working) in your calculation. Go ahead and check. I’ll wait. 😉 🙃😴🖐️😶😐I counted 24 in my house. TWENTY-FOUR!! And if I count our vehicles, make it 27. And I think I’ll include my hour glass, so 28. What is wrong with us? 🤪

     Really, though. How many time devices do we need? The truth of the matter is that we love feeling like we control things . . . like time. But here’s a spoiler alert: WE DON’T! We just like to think we do. Contrary to popular belief, time does not slow down or speed up. Neither does it ever stop or start. And, sorry, Rolling Stones, but time is not on your side. It actually does not play favorites! And, dear Cher, we cannot turn back time. And, Chicago, if you really want to know what time it is, just ask someone. All of us have phones with clocks! And really, Jim, you cannot save time in a bottle! I am sure most people would argue with Styx that we can never have too much time on our hands. And lastly, Otis, why in the world are you wasting time sitting on the dock of the bay when you could be spending time after time with Cyndi doing something useful?

     We can be on time for an appointment and stay in time with the music. We can have time on our hands and we can run out of time. From time to time we might be apathetic. We take time off from our jobs and mark time as we wait for a job. A gift can be timely or timeless. We can take a time out or be in a time out! We can take our time and apparently time can fly!  We really cannot make up for lost time. And I’m not really sure if you gain time or lose time crossing over time zones. Some believe that people can die before their time. Time was, when people wouldn’t give you the time of day. Some people believe their time has not come. According to Charles Dickens (the greatest writer of all time), it can be “the best of times and the worst of times” at the same time! Some believe that there is such a thing as time travel! Of course, we all know that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”²

     But I digress. 🤨It is time for us to address today’s issue: what shall we do with our extra twenty-four (my friend would prefer 24) hours—our extra time? Why not ponder this: “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”³

     Today would be a good time to enjoy the time we have here. Whatever the circumstances, wherever you find yourself—take a moment and embrace your extra day—even though it’s not really an extra day. 🙄 Which reminds me: my time is up.

     Until next time . . .

¹Psalm 90:12    ²Ecclesiastes 3:1    ³Ecclesiastes 3:10-13