Time - Gift or Curse?

I'm still working on the second installment of the Free Market 'trilogy', but something I read in my devotions yesterday just really struck a chord and made me think.  I needed to share and ask for your input as well.

The line was out of Jesus Calling for June 27th.  It said "I designed time to be a protection for you."

A protection.  

I don't know about you, but so often, I think of time as the enemy.  

• It ages us
• It reminds us of what we have not yet accomplished
• It flaunts how long we have been without that thing we truly desire 

It most often drags during our workday, making it seem intolerable.  When we're having fun - on vacation, with friends, being entertained - it flies.

So to me, it is foreign to think of time as a protection. 


The next line of that devotional said "You couldn't bear to see your life all at once." 

Okay... maybe I DO see the possibility of protection. 

I have a number of friends going through some really tough stuff right now.  The death of a friend, a separation, a serious illness.

If we saw these things at the outset, we might run in the opposite direction.  And if we did that, we wouldn't experience the joys that come with the sorrows.  We would live life in fear of what we knew was coming.

On the flip side, the space of time protects us by healing some of our hurts as memories fade and pain subsides.  The distance that time provides can help us think more clearly - sometimes seeing that what we thought we wanted or needed would have been harmful had it come to pass. 


God protects us in time.  I think I may just have to change my attitude about my former enemy.  Embrace him and understand his usefulness. 


So what do you think?  Is time a gift?  A protection?  I'd love to hear your thoughts...if you have the time.