I have a cuckoo clock. It rocks. Actually, it tick-tocks and then a birdie pops out and greets us all with his sweet salutations. We named the birdie Sunshine, and whenever he greets us, Finley yells, “it’s Sunshine!!!” gleefully and all the children run to try to see him before he hides himself away for another half hour. It is an honor held in high regard in our home to see Sunshine face to face and hear him cuckooing away.
I was sitting on the sofa today, reading my new most favorite book that everyone on planet earth should read (more about that later!) when the clock stopped. Previously, the tick-tocking had been the only sound in the room. The stillness of the moment after it stopped dragged me from deep thought and I got up and wound my precious clock and started the pendulum again.
My clock is not some new-fangled invention that uses the pull of the moon to wind itself, nor is it powered by the energy stored in a battery. You have to pay attention to it, listen to it, watch it, care for it, or it will stop working. It will hang there useless, stuck in a moment if you let it.
And suddenly, I knew the clock was more than a clock. The clock is God, time with Him and I am the child running from the back of the house, shouting and singing His name, hoping to see His face and longing to know that I missed none of His glory. How many days will I let slip by and choose to live without the joyful sound of His salutations? Will the noise of life around me be so loud that I fail to realize the tick-tocking of His presence? After all, I am the one who, in reality, seems to get stuck in the moment when I cease to give Him my notice. It is 4:00 forever for me and my soul is stuck worrying, wondering and waiting if I never bother to turn my heart to hear Him.
And so I hear the words of Hosea, crying out:
What a lovely picture of a life lived well. To fill myself with righteous words and examples, and then to find my life full of love that never fails, to seek Him and be rewarded with His righteousness. There it is. That’s my clock, ticking along until time ends and eternity begins. Cuckoo!!!
