Times and seasons

The first time that I was aware of the term "Tyranny of the Urgent" was in the 1980s as the title of an article reprinted from Inter-Varsity Fellowship. I'd later learn that was based on a 1967 essay by Charles E Hummel. It is such a great title that in just four words, the main lesson can be accurately guessed: Urgent things often rule our time while important things get pushed aside. Read the pdf in a new window
Urgent things always come with time-pressure.  Many of the truly important things in life don't. The essay continues with examples and explanations of what the author considers The Most Important Thing To Do. It is practically a paradox.  In a world where so many clamoring things are so urgent, Hummel says the most important thing to do is to wait to hear from God. He also says that making the time for daily waiting on God is "the greatest continuing struggle in the Christian life."

I am thankful that I read this essay fairly early in my child-training years. I know that having been exposed to this perspective made me a better mother. Much of what the world says that you must do isn't all that important in the long run. And many things that are important are not the in-your-face things. Too often they will quietly slip by if one hasn't taken the time to keep watch. 

 Hummel says this about waiting to hear from God, "Yet we know from experience that only by this means can we escape the tyranny of the urgent.  This is how Jesus succeeded."

The good news is that with practice, the waiting time generally gets shorter.  

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September begins tomorrow.
Where I live, the day will be two minutes shorter when measured by daylight. 
Labor Day is the 7th.
Patriots Day is the 11th.
The new moon will be on the 13th; this marks the new year on the Jewish calendar and the end of a shemitah year, which is significant because historically there have been economic upheavals associated with shemitah years. There will also be a partial solar eclipse visible from southernmost Africa and Antarctica.
Constitution Day is September 17th; it's the 228th anniversary of the final session of the Constitutional Convention when the delegates signed the finished copy.
The autumnal equinox is the 23rd.
The last of the blood moon tetrad will be the 27/28th, visible in parts of North and South America, Europe, western Asia and parts of Africa. The totality will last 1 hour and 12 minutes.  This is also the Harvest Moon.