A Moment in Time

Ivonne J. Hernandez explores how faith and language reveal God’s presence in every moment of time. 

I am often amused by the differences between the English and Spanish versions of certain phrases. This amusement often deepens into insight as hidden clues, initially lost in translation, reveal themselves to me.  

One example is New Year’s Eve. In Spanish it is directly translated as Víspera de Año Nuevo, yet growing up we always called it Año Viejo: “Old Year.” The difference between these two titles lies in how they frame a single moment in time. The same happens with Christmas Eve, which I still call Nochebuena, literally “Good Night.” One name looks ahead, the other looks back. Yet both reveal the impossibility of truly grasping a moment in time. 

Between Old and New 

Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish song often played on New Year’s Eve, right at the stroke of midnight — a moment that holds both the old year and the new between twelve bell strikes. The song begins with a rhetorical question: 

“Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? ... for auld lang syne.” 

The literal translation of auld lang syne is “old long since,” but it generally means “times long past” or “old times.” It is precisely in this moment — seemingly outside of time — that hearts wonder how to face this mystery we call time. 

Entering God’s Time 

“All in God’s time.” I often hear myself say this as a call to surrender. It reminds me that God has a plan, and it rarely aligns with my schedule. Whether it is a spouse’s illness, a needy neighbor, or a crying baby in the middle of the night, Jesus shows up and interrupts our time. 

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman. (Galatians 4:4) 

Emmanuel means “God is with us” — not “God was” or “God will be.” He is the great I AM: always present, always creating His life within us. 

God Waits with Us 

Through prayer, I have discovered that “God is with us” often means “God waits with us.” Sometimes, when Jesus brings to mind an area of my heart that needs healing, I respond that I’m not ready. What does He do? He is patient and kind (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4). He does not push or shame me. Looking at me, He loves me (cf. Mark 10:21). He remains with me. He gives me time. 

And it is precisely in that moment that He begins to heal me. It is in the gift of that space and time that I experience true freedom. I grow in trust as my fears lose their grip and the lies disappear. Knowing that God is willing to wait for me, to wait with me, that He will never leave me, I remember that He has always been with me. 

A Call to Remember 

Whether it is at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, or just at a moment in time, hidden within every strike of the bell is a call to remember, to see within the veil … a call to enter into the mystery of God’s time. 

As Saint Peter Julian Eymard reminds us, 

Go to God as God wants you: the situation is the path. Live from day to day, but even that is too much: from moment to moment. (A Thought Per Day)

God is with us. The time is now. Let Him enter our hearts. Let Him wait with us as we wait for one another—for we are all together, held in God’s time. 

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Copyright 2025 Ivonne J. Hernandez
Images: Canva