Alarm Clocks

Life is full of deadlines.  We have to be at school at a certain time.  We have to have our homework finished by the next morning.  We have college reports that need to be typed and turned in by a certain date.  We have a job that requires punctuality.  Why are we so obsessed with time?

I awoke this morning at 5:30 and reset my alarm for an extra 15 minutes of sleep.  I don't have one of those electronic alarms with a snooze button, though. I have an old fashioned alarm clock in which you have to turn the alarm dial to the correct time and then push the button once again to set it.  The funny thing about that is that I actually had to be awake enough to see what I was doing in order to avoid oversleeping.  Then, by time I placed the clock back on the desk and went back to sleep, I only had about 8 minutes left.

Why didn't I just get up the first time?  When I did wake up just a few minutes later, I felt cheated out of the sleep I could have gotten.  I should have either just decided to get out of bed when the alarm first went off or set the clock for 15 minutes later to begin with.  Either way, I would have felt better upon waking than I did by going back to bed.

I spent the next hour and 15 minutes getting my two older ones awake enough to get dressed and ready for school, while making sure I was decent enough to go outside to the bus with them.  Honestly speaking, it meant putting a coat on over my pajamas and slipping into a pair of flats while I sent them on their merry little ways.  I then went back inside to "start" my day.

I know I live in a society in which "now" means "right this second," or better yet, "yesterday."  However, many places I have been to have a different viewpoint...later, tomorrow God willing....both of these mean "whenever we get around to it hopefully."  If I get caught up in either one of them to an extreme degree, dangerous things can happen.  I have to strike a balance.  I need to help my young ones get ready by a certain time in the morning.  I need to find time to cook so the family doesn't go hungry.  I need to have clean clothes for everyone for the day.  I need to spend quality time with my husband and children.  But I don't have to rake the leaves up this week because they are still falling off the trees.

In a sense I think we are all aware of this clock ticking away inside each of us.  Our alarm may go off sooner than we want it to; we may or may not have the opportunity to press the snooze button and take another 15 minutes or so.  But sometimes we need to feel the urgency and wake up to everything going on around us.  What time we do have is precious and if we waste it away just waiting for the bell to ring, we will find ourselves even more exhausted with no accomplishments to show for the chances we have been given.  We are not here forever, so we should spend what time we have wisely so that we can look back and be satisfied, content, with our lives.

I am reminded of a movie that came out when I was in college, Dead Poets Society.  Robin Williams played a charismatic teacher who wanted to encourage his students to learn, love, and to live lives to the fullest.  There was a scene in which he pretends to be Walt Whitman.  He tells the boys to lean in and listen closely as he whispers, "Carpe.  Carpe Diem.   Seize the day!"  I think I'll try that tomorrow.  I'm setting my alarm and, God willing, I am going to wake up and seize every moment, every opportunity that I am given.  I want to be a good steward of my time.  Time is precious.  It is a gift, not to be squandered, but to be cherished and used in a fashion where I can lay down my head at night on a pillow and be at peace for the way I have spent this precious present.