It’s Six O’clock

October. “It’s six o’clock and look how dark it is outside.”

March. “It’s six o’clock and look how light it is outside.”

I have a little ritual when the time changes back and forth to daylight savings time. I call my mom the next day around six P.M. to complain. When I was living at home six o’clock was about the time we’d both look out the window the first evening after springing forward or falling back. The time on the clock did not jive with the level of sunshine outside. We were out of joint. So we’d exclaim to each other, “It’s six o’clock and look how dark/light it is!”

The fall I was a freshman in college I looked out the window in October and smiled. I picked up the phone and called home. “It’s six o’clock and look how dark it is outside.” Mom laughed and laughed. It’s been 26 years since then and I still call mom to complain.

This weekend we are going to do it again. Saturday night I’ll go to bed having switched all clocks in the house forward one hour. And Sunday evening I’ll peek out the window and notice for the first time, “Hey it looks all wrong to be six P.M.!” And yes I’ll call my mom.

So I have been thinking about the time change. It jars me ever time. I don’t like it. Just when I get comfortable it’s time to switch again. I get cranky for a week resetting my internal clock. It’s a jolt. But I notice. I can’t ignore something is very different. And maybe that’s a good thing. I am jolted out of my routine.

I think God uses this tactic with me. I need a stiff reminder jolt. Something I can’t ignore that pushes me into seeing things in a new way. Lent is like that for me this year. I have committed to prayer walking every weekday. This means I set the alarm for 5:45 A.M. (wouldn’t mom be surprised to hear it’s six A.M. and look how light it is!). I walk and pray for an hour before my day even begins. Believe me an alarm that early shocks my system.

I can’t ignore this Lenten season. I strive for some understanding. Some details come into focus. Jesus sacrificed. Not little things like food and comfort, he sacrificed being God. He came down to earth to live among us He gave up everything to save us. Lent is not enough time for me to unravel the mystery of His sacrifice. But the 5:45 buzz gives me a place to start everyday. I don’t want to get so comfortable in my thoughts and understanding of God that I take any of His sacrifice for granted. I want to give Him my time and praise and get ready to rejoice in the joy of Easter.

It’s six o’clock and look at how much God loves us!

Posted 3/6/2007 @ 9:25 PM | Weekly Thoughts