'Time Passes...'

There were times in my life when I could have wished that things slipped by a little more hastily. The longest night of my life happened in the days when I arrived at a God-forsaken place called Kimberley Airport, a place in the Northern Cape of South Africa. My mind told me that there were just as many seconds in each minute of every hour that passed, but, to my ageing bones, each one seemed like an eternity!

It was in the days when I used to fly from Cape Town, where I once lived, to Johannesburg and back. On this particular occasion, returning to Cape Town, the voice of the airline pilot came over the intercom, telling us that there was heavy ground fog, coupled with high winds, that might mean that the aeroplane would not be able to land.

It seemed to take an absolute age of swirling through thick mist before we felt, not the thud of wheels on tarmac, but the thrust of the engines propelling us back into the night sky. 'Sorry, folks,' said our jaunty captain, 'we couldn't make it, so we're flying to Kimberley instead.' End of communication from the cockpit, except for our hostess hoping we'd not have to wait too long for a flight back to Cape Town the next morning.

Having landed, and fortified ourselves with nothing stronger than what was left of our flight's supply of roasted peanuts and soda water, we settled down on the hard chairs of the airport lounge, and attempted to sleep off the remaining hours of the night.

But no way! What with cleaning staff polishing the floors and a bawling baby, we had to stick it out until the first flight was to take off at about 5.45 a.m.!

The furthest thought from my mind was the advice of the psalmist who said that I should meditate on the things of God. All I knew was that I was tired, longing for a flight home and a comfortable bed.

When time hangs heavy on our hands, as it did for me at Kimberley, we do well to try and put it to some good use. The gospels tell us that often, after a long day listening to people's demands, Jesus would go and pray to God. So, whatever time we have to spare, even if it's only for a few moments, let's put it to good use by practising the presence of Christ.

No matter where we are, whenever we can, we can affirm God's presence with us. No matter how slowly time seems to pass us by, we can do so in the company of Christ.