March 12 is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time for most of us (except in Hawaii and Arizona). I don’t know why we can’t just set a time and stay with it - or why there would even be any discussion about it. It’s the weirdest thing to move your clock and declare a new time around which everyone has to arrange their lives. But it happens—twice a year. So this weekend we say, “Spring Forward”, an accommodative way to say that you’re going to lose an hour.
“There are twelve hours of daylight every day….” -Jesus, John 11:9, NLT
Many years ago on a Sunday morning, enjoying a cup of coffee, I received a phone call. It was my friend Anna and she was asking how I was doing. I told her I was doing very well and inquired about her health. She was well also. Then she asked me if I was teaching my Sunday School class that day, and I told her that I was. She then said very sharply, “Well, we’re all here waiting for you!” Thankfully, I only lived a block away from the church! That’s the only occasion that the time change snuck up on me. It was before cell phones and digital clocks, back when we had to wander the house resetting clocks. Ah, the good old days.
Losing an hour may not seem like a big deal, but an hour can either be wasted or put to great use. How many good things can we do in an hour? I know you’ve just wasted part of an hour reading this - but that was your choice! In an hour we can accomplish a lot if we intentionally determine to do it. However, when we ‘lose’ an hour, the choice is taken away from us. This is an issue of liberty (even if we get it back later in the year - with inflation it’ll probably only be 40 minutes by then).
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it. - James M. Barrie
It seems to me that as intelligent and driven as human beings usually are, we should have solved this dilemma by now. Marco Rubio has reintroduced legislation to make Daylight Savings Time permanent, but who honestly believes it will happen? Politicians do not work on the common sense level. Some will vote against it just because a Republican framed up the request (and it would be vice versa of course).
In Louisiana we are ready! We have a trigger law set up so that when it is ever approved Federally, we will already be on board. But, again, hello … hello … do we have to wait on the Federal Government? Louisiana could lead the way and other states could follow or not … their loss. Again, it’s political football, and nothing else.
Let’s not even talk about leap year. In 2024 we’ll get an extra day - start planning now what to do with it!
For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NLT
In all, how we use the hours we have is the important question. Do you have a routine in which you keep up with the hours? In some Christian traditions, there are hours that are set aside for prayer, reminding them to stay in touch with God throughout the day. I think for most of us there are many wasted hours. Have you binged a new show on Netflix lately? Never mind, don’t answer. I don’t want to think about the hours we’ve spent in front of a TV or a Computer that could have been better used - even if for some needed rest.
It’s easy to complain about losing that one hour, but what are we doing with the rest of our hours? It’s a good thing to contemplate.
A dozen years ago I attended a retreat that had me considering this very question. What would I do with my time given the knowledge of the purpose I was created for by my Creator? Mike and I committed then to turn off the TV in the morning and replace watching the local news with reading the Bible. It has made all the difference! We rarely turn the TV on at home (though I do allow myself some Netflix time while on the treadmill), and we recently have been discussing all the eating out we find ourselves doing these days and how that time and money can be better spent.