I recently listened to the song Time Passages by Al Stewart. It was a follow up companion to his hit song, Year of the Cat. The musicality of the two songs are similiar as the genius of the producer, Alan Parsons, displays sophisticated chord progressions, intricate instrumental arrangements, and seamless transitions that blend well with Al Stewart’s Scottish accent.

I’ve always enjoyed the piano riff, the intermittent saxophone, and the beautiful orchestration; but this time I reflected upon the words of the song. The first line states, “It was late in December, the sky turned to snow.” December is the end of the year, and there seems to be a hint of nostalgia as the song continues, “I felt the beat of my mind go drifting into time passages, years go falling in the fading light.”

Stewart declared, “Well I’m not the kind to live in the past, the years run too short and the days too fast. The things you lean on are the things that don’t last.” He pondered the memories of the past, as a yearning refrain echoes, “Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight.”

Is he referring to a regret of a lost relationship? He laments, “A girl comes towards you, you once used to know. You reach out your hand, but you’re all alone.” Could he be thinking of the girl that he left behind in The Year of the Cat, “You know sometime you’re bound to leave her but for now you’re going to stay, in the year of the cat.”

Stewart wonders, “Is this a learning process or just a game that we play?” He longs for the memory and perhaps wonders how it might have turned out differently as he sings, “Time passages, I know you’re in there, you’re just out of sight. Time passages, buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight.”

Life is too precious for us to focus on reliving the past. There may be situations in our lives that cause us deep regret and anguish. We can find encouragement and perspective from David as he reflected on the brevity of life and his loss of fellowship with God. David wanted to make every day count by experiencing the fullness of God’s presence. He wanted to know experientially the importance of valuing each day:

Lord, let me know my end, and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. (Psalm 39:4)

Do we realize the fleeting nature of our lives? David described our ephemeral lives as the mere width of a hand:

Behold, You have made my days like hand widths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Selah (Psalm 39:5)

The word translated breath in this verse is a common word in the book of Ecclesiastes where it is often translated vanity. It denotes a vapor or breath signifying that which is fleeting. David concluded his thought with the Hebrew word Selah. Selah is a term that indicated a pause or musical interlude for reflection. He described the vanity of living for passing pleasures in the next verse:

Certainly every person walks around as a fleeting shadow; they certainly make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. (Psalm 39:6)

David was concerned with making his life count for eternity, not simply enjoying the ephemeral pleasures on earth that will soon be gone. When we understand that life is short and unpredictable, then we develop a greater value for our brief time on earth. David knew that the key was to restore his relationship with God:

And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. (Psalm 39:7)

During our brief sojourn upon this earth, have you discovered that which is most important? It is being in a right relationship with God–that’s where David discovered true peace and acceptance. Apart from God, David concluded that all was vanity. Again, he reflected upon the brevity of life:

With rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing; You consume like a moth what is precious to him; certainly all mankind is mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:11)

David desperately longed for the intimate fellowship with God that he had experienced in the past:

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my fathers. Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again before I depart and am no more. (Psalm 39:12-13)

As we go through our time passages, may our focus be upon God rather than the counterfactuals of the past.