Leap Day: The Magical Gift of Time

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Leap Day: The Magical Gift of Time by Arthur Gordon

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.—Psalm 118:24

Suppose an eccentric but benevolent millionaire told you that on the stroke of midnight he was going to deposit in your bank account a gift of eighty-six thousand four hundred dollars. What would you say?

You’d probably say, “What’s the catch?”

And he would say, “The catch is that in the following twenty-four hours, you will have to spend it all. If you don’t, it will vanish.”

Eighty-six thousand four hundred dollars? Not very likely. But how about eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds? That’s the number of extra time-units that this Leap Year Day brings to all of us. And when the hands of the clock close on midnight tonight, all of them will be gone.

What should one do with these bonus minutes and hours? Not an easy question, is it? I put it to an old friend much wiser than I, and this is what he said: “There’s a little game I play with myself on Leap Year Day. I call it ‘Suppose.’ Suppose all the little pleasures and satisfactions we take for granted happened to us only once in four years?

Little things like the smell of bacon frying, or the song of a bird, or the laughter of children playing in the yard. If such things happened only on Leap Year Day, how precious and marvelous they would seem. If you play this little game, even half seriously, it will intensify your awareness and your appreciation for all the days that the Lord has given us. Use this extra day to remind you how wonderful life really is on all the other days. It may sound a bit foolish, but it works for me. Maybe it would work for you.”

I’ve tried it. It does.

For the magical gift of time, granted to each of us in exactly the same measure, we thank You, dear Lord.