The Perpetual Calendar

It officially has been fall for only a few weeks.
However, the weather still feels like summer.
We have had 100% humidity each day.
I actually put the air conditioner back on a few days ago.

I cannot wait for the weather to stay cool and crisp.
Actually, I cannot wait for the weather to get cold.
I am a, sit by the fire, kind of person.
I am a, get under a blanket with a good book, kind of woman.

I cannot wait to turn on our gas fireplace.
The fireplace was cleaned and serviced last week.
The pilot light is on and ready to go.
I have to wait until the temperature catches up to the calendar.

It is officially fall but the stores are beginning to look like Christmas.
I walk past scarecrows and fall decorations.
On the next aisle, I find myself among Christmas trees.
The displays have ornaments, Christmas lights, snowmen, and Santa.

Hold on a minute! I want to yell.
Can we get through one season before you advertise the next? I ask in my head.
The Christmas decorations look so out of place.
It seems like Madison Avenue wants to get a jump on sales.

We never have time to savor the moment that each season brings.
We are always directed to the next thing.
It is almost like a restaurant with bad service.
It reminds me of a server who comes to take your plate before you are even finished.

Seeing Christmas decorations in October just seems so out of place.
It blends all the holidays together instead of allowing them to stand alone.
It commercializes something that should never be about the bottom line.
The calendar holds no significance anymore.

I was a hold out.
For the longest time, I used an actual paper calendar.
I had one hanging in the laundry room, which had all the special birthdays on it.
I had one on my desk, which had appointments and schedules for my children.

I am organized and the paper calendar was a system that worked very well for me.
I was often asked about this or that date and my calendar was not with me.
It was then I gave in and put my calendar on my iPhone.
I back up my phone and my computer all the time.

I find that I rely on my iPhone calendar.
My youngest daughter still uses an actual calendar and will not resort to her iPhone.
My daughter, who teaches second grade, relies on her planner, which goes everywhere with her.
Everyone else in the family relies on the calendar that is on their phone.

I remember when my phone was acting up a few years ago.
I opened my calendar to check something and saw that everything was gone.
My two daughters, who use an actual paper calendar, were gracious enough not to say anything.
However, it was then I reconsidered using the paper calendar again.

I recently saw something in a country catalog that intrigued me.
It was rustic
It was made of wood.
It was just my style.

I ordered it.
I knew that once it arrived, it would be used constantly.
In fact, it would never wear out.
It would never become obsolete.

I purchased a perpetual calendar.
It has three rows of wood.
On the top row, the days of the week are spelled out.
The middle row displays the months; the bottom row displays the numbers.

Three metal rectangles slide over the correct day of the week, month, and number of the day.
There is no year indicated on the perpetual calendar.
It is something that can be used year after year.
No back up is ever necessary.

I remember when my husband saw it, he said it looked like something I would like.
Will you remember to slide the rectangle each day? he asked me.
Of course, I said with surety.
I have to admit there have been a few days that I have forgotten.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” (Genesis 1:14)

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. (Genesis 8:22)

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. (Psalm 104:19)

God is eternal.
God always was, always is, and always will be.
God is not bound by time.
God created time for us.

The seasons, the months, the days, and the minutes are all from His hand.
Time manages us, stresses us, and often betrays us.
Time was created by God and like everything else He created, it is good.
Because of the Fall, time is twisted and has become something we consider not good.

One day, God will redeem everything.
Time will be no more.
We, who are in Christ, will be with Him in Heaven for eternity.
God dwells in the Present Moment.

I look at my perpetual calendar.
One day it will be unnecessary.
Then it will always be Today.
Then we will always be the Present Moment where God dwells.