Did you know that if a 9-year old lived on Pluto she would be 3 weeks old today? It’s true! My daughter came home from school last year and showed me this diagram:
Now before you go all crosseyed and space out (ha!) from the complicated math, or get caught up on the fact that Pluto isn’t “technically” a planet, think about the brevity of this knowledge…
For me, I immediately thought: Oh my gosh! My wrinkles would disappear if only I could hop in a spaceship! Kidding (sort of). What I really thought was, Time is irrelevant to God! It’s not just something cute to say … It legit changes as we move through space!
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (2 Peter 3:8).
If this is true, why do we sweat the small stuff, or even the big stuff for that matter? If 1000 years is like a day to God, shouldn’t that give us hope for the unfulfilled dreams and plans we have here on earth??
If we’re honest, though, physics (and sometimes God) can feel incredibly abstract. We like to think we’re smart and capable of comprehending Einstein’s theory of relativity and why God created the universe, but really our brains are too puny.
Time and Space point to our biggest vulnerability: our humanness.
This may sound obvious to you, but for some reason, we often try to cover up our limitations by controlling the elements:
- Get married + Buy a house = Have kids
- Turn 40 + Feel old = Have a mid-life crisis
- Retire + Move to FL = Sow wild oats
This line of thinking is one-dimensional. And it’s limiting.
What happens if life throws us a lemon, like a lost marriage, child, house, or dream? How do we fit into the equation then?
The best part about our plans is that God isn’t worried about them. To him, there’s always time. And besides, he’s the one who determines our steps anyway (Proverbs 16:9), so it’s important to remember that he’s never being slow to fulfill a promise or a dream. He is always being patient for our sake (2 Peter 3:9).
We may be small and insignificant when it comes to the universe, but we are NOT small and insignificant to God. He wants us to trust him and focus on his love so that we will be able to keep our eyes fixed more on heaven — the place where our dreams will fully be realized.
The only equation we need here on earth, then, is: love God + love people = love God + love people.
The end.
(Or does this mean, The beginning…?)
Reflection Questions
- Do you get stressed out when you think about all of the things you haven’t yet achieved?
- How does switching your perspective to a heavenly one help?
- What is one thing you can do this week to help you think of the things of heaven and not of this earth?
Jonna Meidal is a mother to three girls who seeks to parent them by the fruits of the spirit. She’s been to 20 countries, loves to write & laugh (a LOT), and can’t get through the day without eating popcorn! You can read more of what she’s been up to at jonnameidal.com or follow her adventures on Instagram @jonnameidal.