The Hour I’d Like To Lose
On Sunday, March 11, we switch to Daylight Saving Time. We used to manually move our clocks ahead an hour before going to bed Saturday evening. Now, most of that work is done by the software that runs our smart phones and other devices. Still, we lose an hour that weekend regardless of who or what is changing the time.
What is it we are actually losing? Since it happens at 2am, the default loss is an hour of sleep. If we choose to not lose the sleep, then we will usually pick either an hour of social life on Saturday evening or an hour on Sunday morning that might be used for getting ready for church.
What if I expanded your options? What if you could choose any hour over the past 12 months to lose? What would you pick?
I can think of three that I would be happy to do away with.
- The hour my grandson, Judah, fell down the basement steps.
This was scary. He broke his leg, but it could have been worse. A few inches either way as he fell and the outcome might have been far different. Judah was in a cast for several weeks and his mother (my daughter) was shaken to the core. - The hour my airplane lost cabin pressure.
About ten minutes after taking off from Denver my ears started to hurt. I swallowed and tugged at them, but nothing worked. Air pressure was escaping so the pilot had only one option…descend and head back to the airport. It was pretty painful and didn’t end until we landed about 30 minutes later. Sadly, one little boy suffered a burst eardrum and had to be seen by medics. - The hour before my wife Ava completed the Philadelphia Marathon.
I was waiting at the finish line for her when another runner collapsed. They had to perform CPR and hurry him away in an ambulance. My wife was running that marathon with her own medical condition that compromised her lung capacity. My anxiety grew waiting for Ava. Thankfully, she finished about 45 minutes later. You probably noticed a common thread running through my three. They all involve some level of discomfort. And, I’m guessing I’m not alone with that. Or… maybe I am. It seems the Apostle Paul spent his entire ministry leaning into pain. In fact, he ran towards it. Paul wasn’t a dumb man, but it seems like whenever he faced a fork in the road he chose the path leading towards more suffering.
In his letter to the Philippians, which was written while he was in jail, Paul explained why. He said there is fellowship in shared suffering. Paul wanted sweet, intimate fellowship with Jesus more than he wanted comfortable circumstances. I’m guessing Paul would’ve gone in a whole different direction if he could pick an hour to lose when they turned their sundials forward. I’m hoping Daylight Saving Time weekend will be a fresh reminder to me about the value of discomfort and suffering. It really can draw us even closer to Jesus.
