Moments Not Minutes

Moments Are More Than Minutes
When we reflect on our lives, we realize the difference between time measured and time experienced. We ask so often, “What time is it?” when the more important question for life is, “What kind of time is it?”
So far, we’ve noted there is time measured (minutes) and there is time experienced (moments). Before we look deeper into types of time across languages and cultures, let me simply set forth this contrast of moments to minutes.
Minutes are measurements of time.
Moments are experiences that transcend time.
Minutes are time at its worst.
Moments are life at its fullest.

Minutes are measured, clocked, labeled, scheduled, ordered, alarmed, hurried, packed, and expiring. Minutes tell us when to wake, when to eat, when to leave, what to do, when to return, and when to sleep. Minutes plot our lives in a tangible and visible grid on paper, calendars, schedules, computers, and mobile phones. Minutes are the thin train tracks of our lives with a clear beginning at birth when we get on board and a final stop when exiting is required.
When we are young, minutes put life out of reach in some far away future telling us, “Not yet, but maybe one day.” When we are older, minutes count downward like the scoreboard in a basketball game visibly reminding us that our “Time is running out”, that, “What Once Was” is far more than “What’s Left”.
All that minutes are: measurable, numerable, ordered, scheduled, alarmed and expiring, moments are not. They are other. Moments transcend charting, calculating, and ordering. Moments are life beyond minutes. Time may be repeated. The same minute will occur tomorrow, but moments are always singular, distinct, particular, and unique. Every moment is a new moment. Every moment is a fresh moment. Every moment is a first moment with new possibilities, new realities, and new life beyond limits of scale, schedule, or measurement. In every moment, you are born all over again.
In the Bible, God doesn’t call people to Holy places but places are Holy when God inhabits them. So is time. It becomes Holy when God inhabits it. God calls us into more than time but to immeasurable moments of our lives where God is, already waiting.