“Spring forward, then fall in the back.” It reminds us to set our clocks to Daylight Saving Time (DST). On the first Sunday in November, we set them back by one hour. Then, on the first Sunday in March, we set our clocks one hour ahead.
It’s actually referred to as Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time, because we’re conserving daylight (singular rather than plural). Congress adopted this law in 1966 and amended it in 2007 to conform to the current timetable. As per History.com, Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states which do not observe DST and the only exception is from the Arizona’s Navajo Nation.
In the world, around 70 countries employ Daylight Saving Time. Japan is the sole industrialized nation that hasn’t yet implemented it. (Go to www.timeanddate.com/time to find out which countries around the world change their clocks.)
In the past year, a poll conducted by Economist/YouGov revealed that the majority of U.S. adults want to end the cycle of changing our clocks. A majority of states have enacted legislation to adopt permanently Daylight Saving Time so that the clocks will be able to spring forward by March 2024, they will not be able to fall back in November. However, states don’t have the authority to do so because DST is required by federal law.
Benjamin Franklin, known for his famous quotes such as “early to sleep, early to rise, makes a man fit wealthy and wise” is the one person to come up with the idea in 1784. England as well as Germany have been among the first nations to switch their clocks throughout World War I and World War II. In addition, the U.S. also observed Daylight Saving Time to save energy to support the war effort.
Thomas Edison once said, “Time is not a product that can be stored to ensure future usage. It has to be invested hour-by-hour or else it’s lost for ever.” Of of course, time doesn’t alter how we manage time is what changes.
Did you know that the Bible documents two occasions when time was changed? The time of King Hezekiah was close to death He prayed, for his life and God gave him 15 more years of time. Read Isaiah 38. In a sign of healing, God promised Hezekiah that the shadow of the sundial would move back 10 degrees. Certain scholars believe that this movement of the dial could have been at least half an hour of time added to the day.
Joshua 10:7-14 recounts the time in which the Amorites were ready to fight against Israel. Their chief, Joshua, prayed and the sun did not move until Israel’s enemies were defeated. The sun didn’t sink for a full day. “And there was never a day like it either before or after the sun went down” (verse 14.).
The Bible also states that one day, time will cease to exist. We will all appear before God and answer to the way in which we have lived our lives. In that moment our time will come to an end with no change to the final destination of our lives.
Benjamin Franklin warned, “Do not waste time, as it is the basis from which our lives are constructed.” Make the most of our time in a wise way. Like Jesus stated, “Let us do the job God has commanded us to complete during the time of daytime” (John 9:7).
Jan White has compiled a collection of her columns in her book, “Everyday Faith for Daily Life.”
The article The COLUMN: It’s the time to transform appeared at The Andalusia Star-News.
