📖 What Time Can’t Tell You

God’s timing and my timing have never seemed to agree.

He moves when I want to stay still.

He waits when I’m desperate for movement.

He lingers when I cry out, “Now, God, now.”

And yet somehow—somehow—His timing is always right.

But I don’t usually realize that in the moment.

I realize it when I’m looking back.

It’s funny how time changes everything.

As a kid, time moved so slowly—birthdays felt like decades, summer breaks like forever.

But now?

I blink and a month is gone.

I scroll and a year disappears.

Time rushes past me now.

And I’m starting to see things differently.

Things that once made me feel anxious or defeated…

don’t even show up in my memory anymore.

That petty argument that ruined my week?

Gone.

That deadline I obsessed over?

Can’t even remember what it was for.

But I can remember the laughter around the kitchen table.

The warmth of holding my child after a bad dream.

The sound of my father’s voice praying for me before I left for college.

I remember the big things, sure—

the births, the weddings, the funerals—

but more and more, it’s the little moments I’m trying to hold on to.

Because I’m realizing something:

Life isn’t built on the big memories.

It’s stitched together by the quiet ones.

We don’t measure our days by the milestones.

We measure them—whether we realize it or not—by the moments in between.

The good cup of coffee.

The unexpected hug.

The song that hits just right.

The way the dog lays across our feet like we’re the safest place in the world.

We say we’re having a bad day when we spill our drink or hit traffic.

We say we’re having a good day when everything runs smoothly.

But if someone asked us years later, “How was that day?”

We’d have no idea.

Unless something big happened.

And even then, maybe we wouldn’t remember what we thought we would.

I once heard someone say, “No one remembers the traffic on the way to their wedding.”

It stuck with me.

Because we let so many little things rob us of joy in moments we’ll never even recall.

And maybe that’s what God is trying to teach us about time.

Maybe that’s why He doesn’t rush like we do.

Maybe it’s why He says:

“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

—2 Peter 3:8

Because He’s not counting time the way we are.

He’s measuring growth.

Measuring faith.

Measuring what really matters.

So what do we do with this?

Do we let the little things go because they won’t matter later?

Or do we hold on to them because they’re what make up the fabric of our lives?

I think the answer is both.

Because:

> Daily choices shape our attitudes.

Defining moments shape our memories.

But only God shapes eternity.

Maybe it’s time I stop asking God, “When?”

And start asking Him, “What are You doing in me now?”

Maybe instead of chasing the next big moment,

I learn to sit still in this one—

to drink my coffee slower,

to be present in the hallway conversation,

to laugh a little more,

to let go a little faster.

Maybe that’s what trusting His timing really looks like.

So here’s what I’m learning:

Don’t let the little things steal your joy.

But don’t miss the little things that give it, either.

And most of all—

Trust God.

Follow Jesus.

Because when your life is rooted in Him,

every second has purpose.

Every season has peace.

And every memory, whether big or small,

is soaked in something eternal.

Scriptures to Anchor This Truth:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

—Ecclesiastes 3:11

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

—Proverbs 3:5–6

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

—Matthew 6:34

💡 Reflection Questions:

1. When I look back at my life, what things that once felt overwhelming do I barely remember now?

2. How might my perspective change if I chose to see today’s small frustrations in light of eternity?

3. What “little moments” has God given me lately that I’ve rushed past instead of slowing down to treasure?

🙏 Closing Prayer:

Lord, thank You for being the Author of time. Teach me to trust Your timing instead of fighting against it. Help me not to waste today worrying about tomorrow, but to see the small, sacred moments You’ve placed in front of me. Give me eyes to recognize joy, hearts to treasure the quiet blessings, and faith to rest in Your eternal plan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

✨ Practical Step for Today:

Take five minutes today to pause and reflect—not on the “big things,” but on the small joys God has given you. Write down three little moments you’re grateful for, and thank Him for being present in them.