I was off to the airport on another trip. I started out early, arrived at the airport on time, but when I arrived the plane had canceled and I had to apply for another plane. The next plane headed for my destination was about two hours away. This would, in fact, make me miss my connecting flight.

I suppose I ought to be grateful that I was able to catch a later flight. It gave me some time to sit in the airport with nothing to do but think. Talk about a boring afternoon!

One of the things I thought about was never flying again. But, necessity is the mother of inconvenience, or something like that.

While I was thinking in the airport, I thought of a wise old man who, waxing philosophical, once said, “Time waits for no man.” I know he was wise because he did not include women in his observation. Although time will wait for no man, it has a different approach to women.

Usually speaking, a man welcomes the passing of time. Proudly he displays those wrinkles and calluses as marks of manhood. Until recently, gray hair was a crown of authority. Even Solomon, the wisest man said, “The hoary [gray] head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31 KJV).

The grayer the head, the wiser the man. Although, I must confess I have seen my share of intelligence-challenged gray-headed men.

A woman, however, has an altogether different philosophy when it comes to time. As a man with gray hair, I do not fully understand their philosophy.

I suppose there are some men who would like to be 25 again. Most men, however, are happy to be as old as they are. Women are different. They live upon the concept of ageless beauty. Who am I, as a man, to counter that philosophy?

I discovered this many years ago. A woman casually asked me how old I thought she was. I have long since discovered that this is no casual question and she is not looking for exact information. I, at the time, took it as a challenge and tried to guess her age.

Wrong!

I have since learned that the correct response to this question is, “Why, you don’t look a day over 25.” I do not know exactly what that means, but I have often gotten smiles from this response. No matter how old the woman is, in her mind she is still 25.

The man has a different idea.

“I’m 60,” he will boast to whoever will listen, “and I can still do a whole day’s work.” Then he will go out and throw his back out just to prove it.

Time has a different effect upon a man as it does upon a woman.

There is nothing wrong with trying to look younger. I suppose it is an easier task to do if you are a woman than if you are a man.

Every morning before I leave the house I try to make myself as non-scary to the public as I possibly can. I will scrape my face, pat down my hair, and douse myself with aftershave and in 10 minutes, I am done and ready for the world.

I have noticed that the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage takes a lot longer than 10 minutes to get ready to face the world. I must admit she does a very good job of it, but I also must admit it takes a long time and it seems each year it gets longer.

I do not want to call attention to myself. I just want to get through the day and back home again. I know I am not as young as I used to be but I take consolation in the fact that I am older than I used to be. And hand in hand with good old Father Time, I have walked down the wonderful timeline.

For me personally, I like to celebrate each birthday as a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. My goal in life is to get as old as I possibly can and with the good help of Father Time, I am well on my way. Time has not stood still for me, for which I am most thankful.

Just like getting to the airport on time for my flight, I want to be on time for everything happening in my life. I do not want to miss a thing. Too often people look backward, stumble over today, find themselves in tomorrow and do not know how they got there. I want to enjoy the time I have in real time.

There is no time like the present to enjoy. Memories are wonderful. Aspirations are delightful. But, nothing can take the place of right now.

The Bible has a lot to say about time. We are in a timeline established by God and it will not slow down until we come to the end. The apostle Paul understood this when he wrote, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11 KJV).

There is no time like the present and as someone said, “This is the first day of the rest of my life.” I am going to celebrate my “Now” with all the energy I have.