Something greater always lies ahead

If God exists, then there is no meaningless time, no time devoid of significance. Every moment has its value, even if all I can do is to endure my illness in silence. If God exists, then there is always something to hope for, even when no human voice can any longer summon me to hope. And old age and retirement are no longer the last stage of my life, a position from which all I can do is look backward; for something greater always lies ahead, and it is preciely the time of an apparent uselessness that can be the highest form of human ripening.
    Christian hope does not devalue time. On the contrary, it means that every moment of life possesses its own value; it means that we can accept the present and that we ought to live it to the full, because everything we have accepted in our heart will remain.