From Dennis’ “Life Is But a Blink”

2. DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?  

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“Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?”

“Wasting” a day is not a sin.  As a semi-retired guy, it’s kinda nice to occasionally sleep a little later, and then to take a nap midday.   But it troubles me, and frankly I think it should, as the CHICAGO song said, to not “know where to go.”  I have spent too much time saying “I wish I had” or “I should’ve.”  Too late to worry about those things, they are in the past.  Instead, how about some “I think I might try” or “I’m gonna look into this.”  It may be totally different than what you’ve spent your life doing so far, and that can be a bit scary.  But as they say, “you only go around once.”  I would really hate to arrive at heaven with “I wish I had” summarizing my final years on earth. 

(© Columbia Records)

This amazing song was written by Robert Lamb, lead singer and pianist for the rock band, CHICAGO.  It was the first song recorded for their 1969 debut album.  I graduated from high school in 1970, so CHICAGO was one of the groups that had profound influence on my life, musically and other ways. 

If you will indulge a little “music nerd” comment, Wikipedia offers an interesting bit of detail about the intro of this song.  “The time signature of the fanfare preceding the trumpet solo (played by the amazing Lee Loughnane) is, per bar, 4/4, 7/8, 9/8, 4/4, 7/8 and 4/4, then transitions to a section in 5/8 for 6 bars, then goes into 6/8 for one bar. The song stays in 4/4 after that.”   Being a high school trumpet player, a pianist, and a future writer, you can see how this kind of creative musical genius captivated me.

Also, there is a “hidden” part of the 3rd verse of this hit song – actually it is not hidden, but it is spoken behind the singing of verse.  It was written in the ‘60s, but the message sounds like it was written for today.  Here is a paraphrase of some of the lyrics.

People are running everywhere,

don’t know where to go,

can’t see past their last step

Mark Twain famously wrote “everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”  We hear people talk about always being in a hurry, about not having enough time to do this or that, about wishing they could cram more hours in a day.   But few really take the time to do something about this problem. 

By the way, Mark Twain is also famous for saying “never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.”  I guess we could discuss the possible meaning of this quote for some time, but I’m not sure that procrastination is the topic I am trying to discuss, so…

That hidden CHICAGO lyric fascinates me, challenges me, scares me.  How many times have I been “running everywhere, don’t know where to go.”   I wish I could say it was years ago that I felt some of these feelings, but I would be lying—I sometimes feel this way now. 

Do I really “know what time it is?”  No.  Do I “really care?”  Yes, I absolutely care.  I want to be in the “here and now.”  I don’t want to be stuck in the past or obsessed with trying to figure out a future I can’t see.   I can look in my past and see many wonderful experiences, with our beautiful family, with our career in writing, with the many people we have encountered in ministry/teaching.  But I can also see failures, times I wish I could have a “do-over.”  I can’t long for the past good times, and can’t be crippled by the bad times.  They are the past, over and done.  

And I can’t manipulate the future, can’t bring back “the good ol’ days.”   Those days may never be able to be repeated.  The future, thankfully, is in God’s hands.  Things are different now in my life, some better, some not.  My best move is to get out of the way and let the Lord lead.  I have a feeling that He will take the good and the bad, and will make something new and joyful for me.   That is what He promises in John 15.  The chapter talks about “the vine and the branches.”  Verse 11 kind of sums it up for me when Jesus says (in the Allen translation) “I’m telling you all this stuff so you’ll understand; you can experience the joy you seek, if you’ll stay connected to Me.”  

So, perhaps the first part of figuring out the “life is but a blink” dilemma is this: I need to start caring about this thing called time.  It is definitely finite.  I may have many more years — or, my time may be up tomorrow.  However, both the people around me, and my Lord, deserve my spending it well.  

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” 

John Lennon

Though we truly might not know what time it is, in some ways of defining life, we can certainly care.   Care enough to stay closely connected to the Lord, knowing He will use both the good and bad to bring us peace and joy.  And mostly, to trust His direction for our unknown future—remember, it’s only unknown to us—God knows every second that’s about to tick.  To God, from before Creation to the end of Eternity, life is definitely a blink. 

So far, this section has really been a “Prologue – Part Two.”  Next, I’ll give you a bit of my own testimony.  Then we’ll jump into lots of other topics—most all of them you can relate to.  My English professor wife told me it’s ok to end a sentence in a preposition (like “most all of them you can relate to”) if it’s in casual conversation.  So, let’s just talk casually, ok?