10 *Good* Things about Daylight Savings

By Katie Helmreich

My Facebook memories lately have been full of my chronic complaints about Daylight Saving Time. Normally, I’m a fairly optimistic person so I challenged myself to find 10 positives instead. Glass half full, dang it.

1. Time change = Easy small talk about a common dislike.
   Not a simple thing in a pandemic, as it turns out! This is great for introverts like me who can typically only think to talk about the weather. Win.
2. Coffee.
   This is the perfect season to drink more of it. This is a literal glass half full and it’s delicious. Or a half pot full. Or several cups of tea, if that’s your thing. Just think how hydrated you’ll be! With the increase in antioxidants you’ll be near bullet proof.
3. Brain calisthenics.
   “But it’s actually only/already ___ o’clock before the time change” polishes rusty mental arithmetic.
4. Creative nomenclature.
   Expressing time as a “real feel time” may catch on beyond time change season. If it does, it might be a benefit to those of us who tend to be running chronically late. “But it feels like it’s only 8:30 AM” will be my go-to line every time I show up 10 minutes late for worship.
5. Great Expectations.
   Summer is coming. Eventually.
6. Cheap Grace.
   The excuse “this time change is really messing me/my kids/my pets up!” seems to cover a multitude of sins! At least for a day or two.
7. Moral Fiber.
   As Calvin’s dad would say, “It builds character” to do things I hate, like getting up an hour earlier for arbitrary reasons.
8. More Coffee.
   Coffee topped with whipped cream and cinnamon as a reward for getting the family somewhere on time counts as its own positive on my list. For obvious reasons.
9. Now I’m Just Making Stuff Up.
   Ummm… Daylight in the evening.
10. Solidarity.
    That feeling of comradery with all those time change haters across the US, especially those with kids. We may not agree on a lot these days, but hating the time after the time change? C’mon, virtual group hug, you guys!

Changing the time is hard. Change in general can be hard! Goodness knows, this past year has caused us all to grapple with change on a new level. At this point losing an hour’s sleep seems like the least of our concerns.

Our family has gone through a lot of changes and challenges, especially in the past couple months, that have often made me feel more than a bit disoriented and unprepared. I’ve fallen out of some of my best devotional habits, and I’ve been feeling that lack especially this week. But God continues to show me over and over again that some things don’t not change.

Even when the clocks change, God’s perfect will endures. Even when mandates, policies, guidelines, and supply chains change, God’s providence remains undiminished. Even when the needs of a family shift, God’s unending grace covers all and nurtures the growth in each of God’s children.

God’s control over the ebb and flow of history, the dance of the universe, our journey around the sun and through each season, has never wavered. No matter what change we face, the Almighty remains our firm foundation.

For at least the next week, chances are, I’ll have no idea when to start supper. I’ll probably end up having to serve popcorn and scrambled eggs for dinner at least once in the near future. I probably better set an alarm to make sure I’m not late picking the kids up from school. But I have enough coffee grounds to last through Tuesday at least, so I’m set to get through the hardest bit.

Maybe it seems kind of silly to pray for help in the transition to Daylight Saving Time, but God is already working divine plans for your good even in this little thing. In moments of Thalamic Chronotaraxis (disorientation of the sense of time or date. Isn’t that a fun term?) we can relax. God is not off thrown off balance by the time change. God will continue to bless us, even through popcorn for dinner!

Happy Time Change Weekend!