{"id":1937,"date":"2018-09-02T10:59:53","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T15:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=1937"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:36:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T03:36:01","slug":"time-tide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=1937","title":{"rendered":"Time & Tide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Twenty-four years ago yesterday Mom Hogue was claimed by her King and it seems like a fortnight ago\u2026 a vapor, a wisp of time. Yet the separation seems long? Odd \u2014 time is odd.<\/p>\n

And time is moving on \u2014 steadily and swiftly. But it seems to do so only when you think about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime and tide wait for no man,\u201d says the ancient proverb attributed to Chaucer, but known to predate the English language.\u00a0The proverb seems to say, \u201cMake your decision today; don\u2019t delay.\u201d Time nor tide waits for a man. Carpe Diem!<\/em> Seize the day. \u201cTime and tide\u2026,\u201d has been on my mind for a few days now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What is it with this quirky medium \u201ctime?\u201d \u201cLike sands through the hour glass; so are the days of our lives,\u201d goes the soap opera jingle from days past.\u00a0This seems truthful, but rings fatalistic as well? Contemplating time is like contemplating the meaning of life, and is intriguing, is it not?<\/p>\n

Sand through an hour glass is a reasonably good analogy of time and our lives. You can\u2019t stop them nor affect their speed.They flow constantly and at a predetermined speed until they are all fallen \u2014 their dance with physics and their race complete.<\/p>\n

You can easily ignore this time passage, constant and rhythmic as it is, and constantly squander time. Or you can be aware of life\u2019s brevity and end \u2014 and seize the day. Be more purposeful in how you spend your days and your life.<\/p>\n

It seems the second option is more challenging and maybe more rewarding. To seize the day is to face the reality that life is short and death is certain. And to value the gift of life with it\u2019s allotted duration and opportunities.<\/p>\n

The Bible says more than a few insightful things about time and the gift of life \u2014 including the best way to steward it, view it, and approach it. It would behoove us all to search those things out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My personal philosophy of time lately can be summed up in the short phrase, \u201cOnly two days are important; today and that day.\u201d This seems especially clear \u00a0when you’re likely in the last three or four, five-year chapters of your life.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four years ago yesterday in a special moment of time, it seemed the Lord gave me some clarity of vision and inspiration about the issues involved, and I wrote the following poem, while my wife\u2019s mother entered the next dimension of time. I pray it\u2019s insightful and enriching in some way for you.<\/p>\n

August 31<\/p>\n

August thirty-one, under a warm delta sun,
\nSmall clouds moving with a gentle breeze,
\nThat\u2019s what my natural eye sees.<\/p>\n

People in this small delta town are scurrying \u2018round.
\nSome are fast\u2026 some are slow.
\nIt seems so purposeless though.<\/p>\n

Mom lies still in ICU while medical folk do all they can do.
\nShe\u2019s peaceful now, the end seems near.
\nShe\u2019s constantly attended by those she holds dear.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a helpless feeling to the natural mind,
\nTo see her breathing in labored strife;
\nTo ponder the meaning of this earth life.<\/p>\n

Scary, confusing, this can be,
\nThe Preacher has called it \u201cvanity\u201d.
\nThere\u2019s a feeling too, I cannot chide,
\nIt\u2019s a deep, deep peace I feel inside.<\/p>\n

Like Elisha\u2019s servant, I gaze the skies,
\nThis time I open my spiritual eyes.
\nI sense the King \u2013 His presence so near.
\nThere is no panic, no pain, no fear.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s resting? Responding? Kind of asleep?
\nThings are subtly changing,
\nThere\u2019s an appointment to keep.
\nA big cloud appears \u2013 refreshing rain falls down.
\nIt\u2019s cooler, clearer now \u2013 pleasant all around.<\/p>\n

Inside her room, on the second floor,
\nThings are changing \u2013 maybe more?
\nFeelings fragile, emotions strained,
\nThis time\u2019s a humbling and fearful thing.<\/p>\n

But in these hours \u2013 peace has moved in.
\nThere\u2019s been humor, love,\u00a0even some grins?<\/p>\n

The King\u2019s spirit of comfort invades all our parts.
\nFriends come and go, sharing love, heart to heart.<\/p>\n

These events, while connected, are quite side by side,
\nThe most significant thing \u2013
\nThe King comes for His bride!<\/p>\n

If you do not know, His bride is the church.
\nFolks like us; He\u2019s saved in a lurch.
\nFriends and believers, The King holds us quite dear,
\nTruth hard to believe, yet brings us much cheer.<\/p>\n

Truth hard to swallow, it cuts like a knife.
\nHe said it and proved it, as He laid down His life.<\/p>\n

Back on the floor, distant thunder is heard.
\nTime seems to slow \u2026
\nHas He uttered some word?<\/p>\n

I sense His approach.
\nIs He distant or near?
\nCan\u2019t really say?
\nBut I know He is here.<\/p>\n

Time moves quickly.
\nTime stands still.
\nJust what is happening?
\nNo one can tell.<\/p>\n

She calls to her daughters.
\n\u201cTell me you\u2019re here.\u201d
\nThey do and she whispers,
\n\u201cHome\u201d in their ears.<\/p>\n

She simply rests quietly,
\nAs dusk turns to dark.
\nOutside the skies blaze,
\nAs lightning does arc.
\nAll o\u2019r the horizon
\nWith hardly a sound,
\nLightning brightens heavens,
\nNever striking the ground.<\/p>\n

Also no thunder?
\nWhat a power display!
\nCan\u2019t help but think,
\nThe King\u2019s on His way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s during this hour,
\nOur Momma has gone.
\nEmbraced by her King,
\nWelcomed to His home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>With deep love, honor and respect for both Janie Hogue and Jesus \u201cINRI\u201d,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dwayne Bell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty-four years ago yesterday Mom Hogue was claimed by her King and it seems like a fortnight ago\u2026 a vapor, a wisp of time. Yet the separation seems long? Odd \u2014 time is odd. And time is moving on \u2014 steadily and swiftly. But it seems to do so only when you think about it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9,12,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friendoftheking","category-be-a-man","category-bread-for-the-spirit","category-understanding-our-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1937"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1947,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1937\/revisions\/1947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}