When time is still in your hands

As evening sets in and shadows lengthen

the silhouette of bare trees

produces a harmonious imprint

to the angle of the setting sun--

artistically and temporally on the green

Eccl 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...

Yesterday evening, I attended the fundraising event jointly produced by Mayfield Salisbury Church and Chinese Evangelical Church of Edinburgh. Having left the ministry in the Chinese church last November, I heard the choir perform anew as a spectator. The experience reminded me of one thing: when God gives the chance to work at something, one should do it wholeheartedly, as the time will come when one cannot work at it anymore. The pieces, no doubt, reflect the inprints of many previous directors: voice production, harmony, expression, unceasingly and untirelessly each practice. It occurred to me at that moment that a time is past, and it remains for me to see if the effort put in continues to flourish or disappears.

I am reminded that, as is with vocal training, so is with the writing of a thesis: one should put in the best effort, since the time will come when such an attempt is no longer possible. When that time comes, it remains only for one to assess, perhaps satisfactorily or perhaps regrettably, the output of one's work.

So when time is still in one's hand, treasure and make the best use of it!

Eccl 5:18-19
Then I realized that it is good and proper
for a man to eat and drink,
and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun
during the few days of life God has given him—
for this is his lot.
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions,
and enables him to enjoy them,
to accept his lot and be happy in his work—
this is a gift of God.