SUMMER seemed so much longer when I was young. In fact all time seemed to be so much slower than it does these days. The older I get the more the years just seem to go faster and faster.

I have started counting the number of years till I reach the age my father was when he died and thinking those years could easily pass by so quickly. The saying "time flies" is very appropriate. For some, however, often the elderly housebound, each day can drag on and on and seem to last forever.

Time is always relative. A watched microwave never pings! Yet... it only seems like yesterday since our children were born... and now they are in their 20s.

Perhaps our awareness of time becomes more focussed when we realise how precious it is. A friend with cancer has just been told his life expectancy is between six to 18 months. Life’s ‘bucket list’ becomes concentrated on the things that really matter.

For the Christian, and indeed for most people of religious faith, what is most important is the assurance of being right with God, knowing the peace which comes through having all things in order and being confident that beyond death lies a welcome in the eternal realm.

It is certainly true that “time and tide wait for no man” and the day of our final demise is inevitable, yet how we use the time we have left is always our choice. So we should make the most of it before it’s too late!

The Rev Stephen G Normanton

Settle Methodist Circuit: Superintendent Minister