You’re Gonna Miss This

Like me, you probably remember sitting in an elementary or high school classroom watching the clock’s hands crawl at an excruciatingly slow pace. Since that time, clocks have adopted the opposite behavior. As I go through my day, after what seems like only a few minutes focused on a task, I frequently am shocked to discover that an hour has passed.

The stack of unread books on my night table, the podcasts flagged but not listened to, the started projects that lie neglected; why can I not borrow the endless stretches my nine-year-old self endured waiting for the bell to ring?

Because, of course, that is how life works. When we’re young time moves slowly and accelerates as we grow older.

One of my favorite country songs is Trace Adkin’s “You’re Gonna Miss This.” In each stanza, as a daughter advances through life stages, impatiently yearning for the next one— to be eighteen, to marry, to have children, for the children to grow up— her father repeats the following refrain:

“You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone so fast
These are good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this.”

Last week, my husband and I began a new stage of life when one of our cherished grandsons got engaged. Together, we’ve journeyed from being a young couple, to being new parents, to being the parents of teens, to welcoming our children’s marriage partners, and to being surrounded by grandchildren. Now, we eagerly anticipate our family’s expansion to include a granddaughter-in-law.

I can’t say that I miss getting up at night to nurse a baby, but I do miss that smile that beams the message that I am exactly who the baby hoped to see. I don’t miss tending to scraped knees, but I do miss being able to give a kiss that instantly heals. I don’t miss teenage mood swings, but I do miss watching minds and hearts expand as character develops. I don’t miss cooking for a crowd for every meal, but I do miss the youthful speed and ease with which I did so.

“You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone so fast.”

Maybe. But when you are looking forward there isn’t much time to miss the past. It was wonderful and moving on is wonderful too. The trick is to treasure what is before us, neither rushing to the next stage nor clinging to the present one. If you are blessed to be surrounded by loved ones during the coming holidays, I encourage you to cherish the moment— just as I plan to do.

P.S. How we relate to time is one the stark differences between the worlds of Jerusalem and Athens – the Biblical vs. secular worldview. This is a great time of year to dig deeper with our Chanuka teaching: Festival of Lights: Transform Your 24/7 Existence into a 25/8 Life on sale for download for only $5.

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