Once Upon Unmeasured Time

Once upon unmeasured time no one had a clock

No one had a calendar and no one had a watch

Without a clock or calendar no one knew the time

No one knew how old they were or when the sun would shine

There were no clocks to tell them when to sleep or when to play

There were no clocks to tell them when to eat or when to bathe

People ate when they were hungry and played until they slept

They bathed when they were dirty and lots of time was left

They couldn’t be late for anything

They couldn’t run out of time

They never spent a minute of time they couldn’t find

Every day had rhythm just as it had rhyme

Yet no one knew the reason for no one measured time

And the God of forever loved them

Then one night the moon was bright

and someone had a thought . . .

“If we watched the moon each night

could we make a clock?”

Others asked, “A calendar?”

Another said, “Why not!”

But no one knew the questions

would make forever stop.

From that moment forward everything changed. The natural rhythm and rhyme of life slowly faded away as people studied the moon each night. Everyone asked, “How long is a night?” But the moon did not answer. They wanted the moon to tell them when buds would appear on the trees, or when the rains would cause the rivers to flood. They wondered when the berries would ripen, or when the heat of summer would dry the ground. They wanted to know when leaves would fall from the trees, or when the cold wind would blow. But the moon could not tell them the exact time these things would happen.

As they studied the moon, they discovered that time was oddly divided! Sometimes they counted 29 nights between full moons. Other times they counted 31 nights between full moons. It turned out that measuring time was not as easy as people thought it would be. It took so long to count, add, and divide time that people forgot about a time when no one thought about time! But a few people remembered when forever stopped. They wished they could go back to unmeasured time before anyone watched the moon. But time is a funny thing. It doesn’t let you go travel backwards. You can only go forward.

Still . . . the God of forever loved them.

Then one day, the sun was bright

and someone had a thought . . .

“We could watch the shadows move

and make a better clock!”

Others asked, “A calendar?”

Another said, “Why not!”

From that moment forward, people studied the shadows caused by the light of the sun. Everyone asked, “How long is a day?” But the shadows did not answer. They wanted the shadows to tell them when buds would appear on the trees, or when the rivers might flood. They wondered when the berries would ripen, or when the heat of summer would dry the ground. They wanted to know when leaves would fall from the trees, or when the cold wind would blow. But the shadows could not tell them the exact time these things would happen.

Some people thought that the sun held great spiritual powers! They bowed down to worship the sun. They also made sun gods out of clay. But other people did not want to worship the sun, or the clay sun gods. They argued that the light of the moon was a better way to measure time than watching shadows move on sunny days. Insert Image #4 Clash of the Lights - Position near bottom right corner of page. Decrease image size and text wrap to fit on page with this text. So the people who worshiped the sun created a solar calendar. Those who watched the changing light of the moon created a lunar calendar. But two different calendars caused much confusion. Was it the 30th day of the second month or the 1st day of the third month? Does one year equal 11 new moons, or 4 seasons of 91 suns? Even though everyone was measuring time—no one understood exactly how to measure time! Still . . . the God of forever loved them.

Then one night the stars were bright

and someone had a thought . . .

“We could watch the stars at night

and make a better clock!”

Others asked, “A calendar?”

Another said, “Why not!”