Time is an illusive thing. Typically children do not understand the passage of time until about nine years of age. They may be able to tell the numbers on the clock or recite the digital clock numbers, but they really don’t grasp what that means. Baby-sitting for one youngster, we were startled when the child asked for “orange juice all day.” “All day” had become a measure for a large amount. Even as adults we often notice that time seems to move differently at certain moments. While at a restaurant recently I thought the service was very slow until I looked at the clock and realized that it was quite speedy. The problem was that I had an appointment and was worried about being late to arrive. Most of us have experienced how “time flies” when we are enjoying the moment. Our level of engagement affects our perception of time. How different from us must be God’s perception of time in the light of His eternality. As scripture puts it, “A day with You is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.” When we are waiting for the answer to our prayers the time can seem to be slow beyond endurance, but God’s timing is always perfect. With our limited vision of time, we humans have expressions like “how time flies” or “we just need more time.” Perhaps that is why patience is such a difficult virtue for human beings. Even as adults, we want all our needs met now. Perhaps we are not as mature as we might think. It is almost like we are praying, “Lord, give me patience and give it to me right now!” while scripture admonishes us to “wait for the Lord” and “Be still and know that I am God.” So let us practice patience until as the book of Revelation puts it: God says, “time shall be no more.”