Time

Time is a fascinating topic. On Earth we often think of it as simple and consistent—a straight timeline. For example, in 1776 the United States was founded. In 1876 we marked 100 years. In 1976, 200 years had passed. And next year, we’ll celebrate 250 years. Time seems fixed, and we mark it with calendars and clocks.

But time is more complex than it appears. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, time can actually change depending on speed and gravity. It’s not just a straight line—it can bend and stretch based on your perspective.

Einstein offered a simple way to picture this. Imagine bouncing a ball straight up and down one meter. If it takes one second to go up and down, it's moving at 2 meters per second. Now imagine doing the same thing while riding a train at 60 miles per hour. To someone on the train, the ball still moves straight up and down. But to someone standing at the train station, the ball travels in a V-shape because it moves forward with the train while bouncing. From their view, it covers more distance in the same amount of time.

Even though the ball’s speed hasn’t changed, our perspective of its motion has. On Earth we move too slowly to notice these differences. But in space, things get more complicated.

Take GPS satellites, for example. They orbit Earth and send signals with a timestamp. Your GPS compares its own clock to the satellite’s and calculates how long the signal took to arrive. But since the satellites are moving quickly in space—and are farther from Earth’s gravity—time actually passes more slowly for them. Scientists must adjust for this time difference (called time dilation) to ensure GPS works accurately.

Time dilation becomes even more dramatic at high speeds. If you traveled through space at three-quarters the speed of light for a year and returned, you would have aged two years—but over three years would have passed on Earth. The faster you go, the more time stretches.

So time is not fixed—it’s flexible. That might sound unsettling, but for me it brings peace.

God exists outside of time. He sees everything—your first breath and your last—at once. While we’re bound by moments, God is not. When life feels uncertain or confusing, I find comfort in knowing that God sees the full picture and is working everything according to his perfect plan.

So when time feels like it's moving too fast—or not fast enough—remember this: God is bigger than time.

Lean on God. He holds it all, even when, from our perspective, it doesn't make sense!