In that old hymn we used to sing in church there is a phrase, “When the roll is called up yonder, and time will be no more.” The idea is broached again in the song “Amazing Grace” when they talk of 10,000 years being nothing. Time is mysterious to all of us especially actor Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day.” The movie filmed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a place where the “real” groundhog (Punxsutawney Phil) supposedly lives and where our star, Murray, who plays a very dispassionate TV weatherman bored at the repetitious scene but is forced to be there and cover it anyway. The old “scoffer” gets delayed in his leaving this town he despises by a surprise snowstorm. He’s worried about “time.”

Trapped in this hated place, the hapless Bill wakes up the next morning with his clock radio playing the same tune it played the morning before. Sonny and Chere’s “I Got You Babe.” It’s the beginning of him having to endure the same old day again. The next morning, he realizes he is caught in a “time loop.” As he has to wake up and repeat each day all over again. The hapless weatherman soon finds there are no consequences to his actions in this, his new life—tomorrow he starts all over again— no one remembers the day before. Time is no longer of any consequence. He cleverly decides to cash in on his dilemma. Mostly he just does things that enhances his own dreary selfish life but finally gives it more thought and zeros in on something to do with this “bonus” time. What did he really want? Well, he really wanted his coworker, Rita, to love him. You need to have seen the movie to understand this.

Bill now decides to improve himself each day trying to find something that Rita admires in a potential lover and then doing something to change himself toward making himself attractive to Rita. He learns to play the piano—expertly— ice sculpt and learns numerous other worthy things. Finally, he gets so good and amazing in her eyes that he wins her over and the next morning, it’s February 3rd. The time-loop curse is over, and he has his greatest wish. Rita. And he did it by using something he had an infinite amount of. Time.

All of this was possible because the unhappy weatherman was finally able to control this something called “available” Time. And the ambitious weatherman, after realizing what he had (infinite time) concentrated on his main and worthy goal. Rita. You might say that we too have a lot of time, but we just don’t have the do overs and repetitious time Bill had. But it was only after he established a useful goal did he make good stuff come to pass out of his time dilemma.

How can a movie story affect me, you might ask? All of us probably have enough God-given time to get new and useful skills to improve our lives, but what skills are you really honing? Will it actually end up giving you what you want? And just exactly what do you want? Be sure that what you really want is something worthwhile. Now, what is it you really need and want? Musical skills? New friends? What is your life’s main goal? How will you feel about this goal if you do get it? Bill worked hard to get Rita. But you don’t have to work so much nor obtain infinite do-overs to achieve this eternal happiness. Sound like a religious pitch? Well, you don’t need a time loop to figure this out. You have plenty of time to figure out why you exist. What is it you want from this life? The answers are not something you’ll get from your girl or boyfriend. Nor will you find it in a bottle or a pill. If a purpose-filled life that promises to be eternal appeals to you then perhaps you are on the right path.

Have a good week and be sure and go to church on Sunday. A good way to start a new time do over. Sunday, September 17th, the participating churches in Allen will all meet at the Allen gym for a backto- school worship session. Check it out. Might be something there for you.

Wayne Bullard, DPh cwaynebullard@gmail.com