The Inexorable Passage of Time | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: The Inexorable Passage of Time | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jacob Drollinger
07/07/09
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

And so the aging man sat back, sat back in the soft chair which had been conformed to his body. He began to ponder the futility of his existence, the seemingly meaningless series of random events which had been his life. “Where had all the years gone?” he wondered. “What had happened to all the time he once had?” All of his bones and joints ached now, his stomach was protruding from his torso like a pie swelling when it is nearly finished cooking. As the banks of clouds on the horizon at sunset, the lines on his face appeared to be growing further apart with each passing day.

He started to think about the regrets he had, how his dream of becoming a writer had just sort of faded from view. How all of the strong friendships he once had gradually ended. How all of the first loves he experienced had been forgotten. Most of the things that he loved to do – the games, the sex, the fun, just didn’t hold his interest anymore. Many of his old buddies had already passed on.

“What had happened to him?” he asked himself. The zeal that he had for life, had it been too much in the beginning to sustain itself? He once had three small children and a beautiful wife he loved to make love to. What was this feeling that he now had? Was it really regret? He would never again experience the thrill of a first kiss, or the excitement and wonderment of a child being born. He had attempted to fill the first void with vulgar images, but it was never the same. Grandchildren were nice, but he wouldn’t see them for months on end. He wasn’t able to watch them truly grow, and to him they looked so much larger each time he set his eyes on them. Undoubtedly, the strong man they called “grandpa” was becoming increasingly frail and decrepit.

Now, the hair on his head was nearly gone. All of the sporty cars and trendy clothes he bought made him look foolish to those around him – he knew – but he felt that he had to try. His heart’s beat, once so strong and pronounced, struggled to keep blood flowing through the decaying flesh. His eyesight and his hearing were fading by the day, he could feel that too. His body was failing him. Speed and strength were absent. The inexorable passage of time was taking its toll.

In this, the final stage of his life, the one thing that made a difference was the one thing he had not known, the one thing he didn’t think he needed to know earlier in life. This man had never recognized nor respected any authority but his own. At one time, he thought he was above the law; his ego and pride were so forcible and substantial. He didn’t need God. All that he needed was he, and he was all he would ever need. He was way too smart to be sucked in, to be brainwashed by any church.

He found salvation years ago. It was this one circumstance that kept him from losing sanity. With every year that went by, he would realize more and more that there must be something more than just this. With every day he was forced to conclude that there must be something more than just this crazy life. When his mother died, he received vision. He didn’t know what it was at the time, but he knew he lacked something that she had possessed. She was now with Jesus, and the shortness of breath he was having was telling him that he needed Jesus too. It came to him one morning while escaping from bed. It was a feeling of dizziness at first, but then a soft voice began to speak. It told him that although he had always rejected Him, his Father had always been there for him. The thought that he would soon be going home to be with Him was his comfort now.

The pondering of the futility, of the regrets, then, was simply an amusement. It was funny how the trivial things, when measured against eternity, sounded as insignificant as afterthought. He was now so old. The sky was growing darker; the crimson glow of his days was fading into the horizon. He would be here for but a day; but the next day would be the brightest he would ever know.

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.