On Whose Clock?

Speaking of meandering through life, the Indian sense of time thoroughly perturbs me. I am a person who thrives on schedules and knowing exactly what my future holds. I do not even care for surprises. While in India, it seemed like every day was a surprise. We would literally get contacted hours before, or a day if we were lucky. This was something that I struggled with a great deal while on the trip. It did not stop with planning either. When we went to get fast food, we waited for a random amount each time. Food was simply served whenever it was ready. In America, when I worked for fast food, we had to meet a time limit on every order. This was not the case for any establishment in India. The fast food was not slow in comparison to the dine in restaurants we visited, but it was still not what one would expect from American standards. Besides the food, there was also a sense of this time indifference while shopping. Haircuts had no time limit, it was simply completed when the job was done. The same applied to checkouts at groceries. There just seemed to be no set timeframe on any aspect of Indian life, and once again this permitted a very easy-going atmosphere. People did not stress about the next hour or minute, the next activity, or what their future held, they just went about what they knew and accepted whatever would happen next. While this was a very stressful lesson, it was a much-needed lesson as well. It taught reliance on God at an unparalleled rate. Once full trust was placed on God, then life just seemed to be so much easier, so much more worth living. At every turn our day went as perfectly as possible as well, so it was senseless to stress. Ultimately, due to the Indian sense of time and schedule, not only did I learn that God would provide all the while, and that trust in Him was all that was needed for life to run as needed. But I also learned that a lack of control does not mean life spirals into chaos. Instead, life can be far more peaceful with full trust placed on God, as our personal control as humans is nothing in comparison to that of the creator.

Honestly, India helped me come to terms with how addicted to time constraints I truly was. It was a huge struggle going with their flow, as I had been so set on mine with college. Being able to just break free of that constant grind and really just embrace what was offered to me was extremely refreshing. It may have caused me constant stress, but I think it was the perfect wake up call for myself and my faith.