Daily life is Bosham is regulated by the tide- which comes in quickly and covers all of the mudflats. At high tide, the water covers the road and washes up against the pub wall. Unwary motorists may fall foul of this peril; if they park close by on an incoming tide, their vehicle will go swimming (for a short but painful time) before it sinks.
It is useless to protest. Time and tide wait for no-one. Please make sure you are insured; better still, know the tide timetable and choose your parking spot wisely. Trust me, the parking charges are reasonable (and MUCH cheaper than losing the car).
Time ticks on remorselessly, day by day, month by month… we can never “go back” for a re-run, changing that one regretted choice or circumstance. I used to chuckle when “old” folks said “time goes faster as you get older” but I’ve decided they’re correct. We’re nearly halfway through September and the “to-do” list gets bigger every week. (Retirement as an “easy” life is a fable!)
Psalm 90 v12 offers a sensible perspective: two slightly different translations help to make it clear.
New International Version
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
New Living Translation
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Time is short. The tide of our existence ebbs out of our control. Everyone, rich or poor, genius or average, faces exactly the same parameters in life. Time is a gift. Only God knows the precise time of our birth and our death, and we have a wonderful opportunity to live as well and as fully as we can. We can’t control our “weather” as we sail through the years, but we can trust in Christ to guide us through our lifetime. Work, play, rest, learn, worship and love– we have to fit all these in as serve God and our neighbour. Do we balance them well?
A simple prayer bears learning and repeating: “Teach us to use wisely all the time we have.”
The Reflectionary 