Every day I wake up and get out of bed, I thank God for another day. Lately I have become more aware of time and our limited supply of it here on Earth. When I was young, time seemed infinite and I felt invincible as most kids do. I remember that Christmas always seemed so far away. My brothers and I took turns looking through the Sears catalog for what we wanted for Christmas. As I recall, we even had a few fights over it. I was privileged to share my birthday with my Dad. I could not wait until I turned 16 so I could get my driver’s license. That license meant freedom and cars were an expression and passion for me. Getting from point A to point B was just a good side effect.

During the teen and early years of my 20s, I worked hard on tugboats/barges at the local shipyards. I learned the real value of money and considered that time as my boot camp for life. During this time I lost a few friends, some close to me, to tragic accidents. I began to question the meaning of life and my purpose. I went to a place in Switzerland called L’Abri to try to figure things out. As a Christian, I discovered that my life is in God’s hands and I had little control over its length, just the path to a point. I came home to finished college. While at college I started to minor in Philosophy. Some of those philosophy classes challenged my beliefs and to a point it was a good thing. I recall being assigned to create unique quotes and I came up with a couple that I remember. Since I worked in the darkroom for the college newspaper, this was a quote I created; a definition of photography. “Photography: Stealing from the greatest thief of all – Time”. Another one was more juvenile, but got a good reception in class: “Time is like a fart, the more you try to hold it the quicker it gets away”. I later changed my minor to Bible. I saw more value in studying Bible instead of Philosophy.

After college, time still seemed big and endless with so much potential. I started my career and had a lot of fun working in Television Production. I met Jennifer when I was 29 years old. We got married about a year and half later. That was the best time in my life until Will and Allison were born, then it became even better. I was so blessed to have this little family.

Time still seemed big and endless, with so much potential, then one day I had to go to the Emergency Room. I found out that I had a kidney stone in my right kidney, and oh by the way, there is a mass on your left kidney that I might want to get checked out. What a heavy weight to hit my shoulders. All of a sudden, I sensed my own demise and time no longer had lots of potential. I ended up getting part of my left kidney removed and all of my scans and check-ups since have proved to be clear, no more cancer. Life and time look differently to me now. I see both as extremely valuable and other people more important than myself. So my cancer experience ended up being a good thing for me. I owe Jennifer so much for always being there by my side during that trying time. I could not have gone through that without her.

I am now 57 years old and as I look back over my life, I see the ‘what could have been’ if I had done things differently. The one thing that is the common thread through time for me is my relationship with God. I accepted Christ when I was 12 years old and my relationship with Him gets stronger every day. I am not wealthy (and probably never will be) but I am rich. I lack for nothing and look forward to everyday.

Time is finite for every one of us. How it treats you is different than how it treats others. How valuable it is, is to you is up to you, no one else. Do not take time so carelessly as we all seem to do when we are young, because before you know it, it will be gone.