Time Available

 

 

How much time do you have

Is an often-asked question

And, depending on how you answer,

You may pose a grave problem.

 

Your first answer may well be

I’ve got two hours tops,”

Impressing someone then and there

You are in the controlling spot.

 

You determine the amount of time

You have available to him,

That audacity that you display

Is neither proper nor prim.

 

Let us look at a second answer:

Like “When I go out and get back,

We can talk indefinitely.”

Like, that is a definite fact.

 

We have this thing about control

Especially regarding time,

Not recognizing that this control

Only exists in our mind.

 

A third answer might very well be,

“I really do not know,”

And for this particular response

Two explanations I can show.

 

 

The first pertains to circumstance

Regarding a prior engagement,

The time allotted for that event

Might exceed your planned intent.

 

“But I do not know,” may also mean

The time you have remaining,

None of us knows the time we have

While on this earth sojourning.

 

Though we speak with certainty

As though we are all wise,

We have no idea, whatsoever,

As it relates to our demise.

 

Most times we do it unconsciously

Sometimes it is presumption,

Therein is that control thing again

We like to set in motion.

“If God wills,” we should really say,

For God is in ultimate control,

And it is God that we disrespect

When we are audaciously bold.

 

Next time you meet with someone to plan

Please do it the proper way,

When doling out the time you have

Remember, God has the final say.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019