No, I'm not a Whovian, in case you're wondering. However, since I'm related to one and friends with many of them, I have sat through my share of Doctor Who episodes. The most memorable and famous episode that I got to see a few years ago is titled "Blink". In this show, a girl known as Sally Sparrow must get back the Doctor's phone box from some nasty alien-monster things known as "Weeping Angels". In a terrifying turn of events, Sally realizes that these angels that appear as "harmless" garden statues, can move when there aren't any living things looking at them. So, when Sally is looking at a Weeping Angel, it seems to just be a normal, lifeless statue. But the moment she even blinks, they have the opportunity to move. As you can imagine (and have probably seen), things get pretty intense as Sally tries to escape from these creatures, having to stare intensely at them to make sure they don't move and attack her. I think the scariest concept about the Weeping Angels is how quickly they move. If you so much as blink, it has the opportunity to suddenly be THERE, in front of your face, ready to attack you the moment you blink again.
I've come to a reality about this concept: our lives are like a blink. If a Weeping Angel represents death, then I'll say it this way. Death seems so far away, but if you so much as blink or look away from it, it will suddenly be there, ready to take you away. No, I'm not saying that we should constantly think about our deaths; God has that all covered so we don't need to think twice about it. What we really need to do is to always realize the brevity of our lives because the end can appear suddenly, just like a Weeping Angel.
Earlier today, I learned about this idea first-handed when I stepped into an assisted living home to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The people surrounding me were so close to the end of their lives. They were barely dragging along, many of them struggling with physical handicaps and mental degradation. A thought suddenly hit me and caused my heart to skip a beat as I was in this facility. I am seventeen years old. Multiply that number by five and add a few years to it, and I am the age of the people in the nursing home. That really isn't that long from now. This feeling of being youthful forever that I'm currently feeling as a teenager will disappear, in the blink of an eye.
My most favorite book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes, really hits home with this concept.
"Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.
Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.
Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
Ecclesiates 12:1-7
That passage may seem depressing, yes. But it is SO powerful if we can actually take it into consideration.
Next time you feel like falling into a pit of despair because of drama, members of the opposite sex, homework etc., just remember this passage. Why, you might ask?
Well, because it reminds us all that our lives are so brief and miniscule that we need to look to something greater than ourselves to find true purpose. And if your entire life is that small, how big is this little section of your entire life? It's like the size of an atom in the universe of eternity.
What will you do with your tiny gift of time?
"Teach me to number my days
And count every moment
Before it slips away
Take in all the colors
Before they fade to grey
I don't want to miss
Even just a second
More of this
It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life?
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
When it's all said and done
No one remembers
How far we have run
The only thing that matters
Is how we have loved
I don't want to miss
Even just a second
More of this
It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life?
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
Slow down
Slow down
Before today becomes
Our yesterday
Slow down
Slow down
Before today becomes
Our yesterday"
- Blink by Revive
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