CLERGY CORNER: The gift of time

Posted on 23 February 2012 by LeslieM

“Doe Adar a female dar…” Yes, I know the lyrics actually say, “Doe a deer, a female deer,” but we are just starting the Hebrew month of Adar. Adar is the month in which we celebrate the Festival of Purim where we read The Book of Esther. And, just a few days after we celebrate Purim, we move our clocks ahead as Daylight Savings Time begins.
Time is an amazing thing. It is a gift. Some people seem to have forgotten the value of time. Some take time for granted. In the Book of Esther, we find that we are (or at least were) running out of time, and then, wonder of wonders, the wicked Haman, who tried to put an end to our time, finds he has run out of time.
I’ve thought a lot about time in recent days. It probably had something to do with a couple of visits to medical specialists. In one office, I was kept waiting 45 minutes and, when the doctor finally saw me, she apologized profusely and let me know she was well aware of how valuable my time, not her time, but mine, was. She let me know she would try to do better in the future.
And then there was the other specialist, who kept me waiting two hours beyond my scheduled appointment and, when he entered the room, there wasn’t even so much as an “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”
At one of the Health Centers, I asked the people at the Healing Service how many of them had watches on. Several raised their hands and I asked what time it was. Again, several responded, calling out the correct time. That’s when I said it was a good time to count our blessings. Here are a few we came up with:
• If you have a watch, you are blessed because there are many people who do not own one.
• If you can fasten the strap from the watch around your wrist, you are blessed because there are people who, no matter how hard they try, cannot perform this feat of manual dexterity.
• If you can see the face of the watch, you are blessed because there are people who cannot see at all.
• If you can read the time, you are blessed because there are those who have such severe dementia they can no longer remember how to tell time.
• And, if you can tell someone else what time it is, you are blessed because there are those who can no longer speak.
Now, let me ask you a question, dear readers. Why is it that we never seem to notice how many blessings we can count from something as simple as a watch? Could it be that we just never take the time?
Time is not only found on the hands of our watches. Time is on our hands. The question is what are we going to do with the time we have? The choice is up to you! Take some time to think about it and don’t forget to set aside some time to count your blessings.
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

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