The expense of time
// July 30th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Daily Life, History, People, Travel
I visited a small city in Russia a few years ago. It’s really not that small. Formerly Stalingrad, now Volgograd, it’s a city where history lives just down the street from my good friend Vitaly (and a million or so others). I met Vitaly on a trip there with a all-volunteer orchestra from the US. Vitaly and I hit it off quickly. He knew English well enough and had a neat sense of humor. He is a taxi van driver and the pastor of a small church there. He gets paid by doing the former so that he can help others doing the latter.
So we’ve been keeping in touch via email regularly. I got to visit him again last year when I visited Moscow, Tomsk (Siberia), and Volgograd performing with a big band jazz group. This is one of those friendships that just picked up again as if I had only gone down the street for some groceries. He tells me his English is good but he always confuses kitchen and chicken in translation.
I sent him an email asking if he’s experienced the same kind of thing I had where weeks go by and the time in between vanished as if stolen by a thief. He responded well.
You said interesting thing about time. It is true. It is difficult to understand that every minute or hour which God gave us costs “very expensive”, and we shall to spend it very very wise. I pray to God about that regular. Life is short, pray hard.
Such truth from halfway around the world. I look forward to visiting him again next year as our family plans a trip around the world with stops in Moscow, Volgograd, and then Taipei. And don’t you forget to visit the online destination called Watercooler Wednesday each week at Ethos.
