“How Time Steals Dreams We Never Act On”
Time is a vengeful agent. It keeps ticking and never pauses to meet the expectations of man. It existed before creation and has never stopped ticking till today.
Over the years, many people lose track of time and suddenly realize that they left their beautiful dreams unrealized. They failed to do the right things while there was still time.
According to the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes, everything has its timeframe. Whether small or great, under the sun or above it, time respects no one.
I once had a deep conversation with a young man who told me how he spent his prime years in reckless habits. I was fascinated by his story, yet as I reflected on it, doubts filled my mind.
In a person's lifetime, the twenties are often the prime years for planning what life should become in the next two decades. The thirties, in many ways, reflect what was built in the twenties.
Although many writers encourage people to “wait for their time,” the sad reality is that some people wait on nothing. They watch days become weeks, weeks become months, and months slowly become years that never stop rotating.
How Some of Us Lose Track of Time
In the spotlight of our struggles, many people in their twenties give up on hard work and the pursuit of new knowledge. Some chase pleasure, hoping to wake up on the bright side of success, while only a few endure the tough and rough paths required to build a meaningful life.
We now live in a world where laziness has gradually been normalized. Yet karma plays its role, and many who spent their youthful years in endless parties often find themselves standing on the ruins of lost opportunities.
As the Bible reminds us, “Everything has a time.” There is a time to work hard in youth and a time to enjoy the fruits of that labor later in life. It is wiser to struggle in your youth and enjoy in your forties than to enjoy recklessly in your youth and question life in your forties.
You may wonder why I am so specific about the number forty.
The number forty carries deep spiritual significance. After the flood of forty days and nights, God made a covenant with Noah. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before reaching Canaan. Christ fasted for forty days and nights, and even pregnancy runs for about forty weeks.
These patterns reveal the mysterious significance of forty in human existence.
At forty, one should ideally be standing firm in a chosen path rather than wandering without direction.
While growing up, I often heard the saying: “A fool at forty is a fool forever.” I never truly understood its meaning until I began reflecting on the significance of time and maturity.
However, life is merciful. Even in the late thirties, there is still time to pull the plough and begin the work that should have started earlier.
In his book Everyday a Friday, Joel Osteen speaks about how people often miss the beauty of life by losing track of time and memories.
As we walk through life, we must learn not only to keep track of time but also to create beautiful memories along the way.
Life is too short, they say.
Make a memory of it.
— Chidimma Writes
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