Noodling Time Space and the Things of God

(Noodling: curiously rotating around and through a subject or point without a known end.)

I was in middle school when Ms. Johnson, my science teacher, taught us about the Earth’s rotation. Her class was one of my favorites, and she was an excellent teacher. As usual, I was excited to talk with my friends about what I had learned. My first chance came when a group of us had gathered in the backyard to discuss which neighbors’ fruit tree we were going to raid. When I told them about the earth turning on its axis and moving through space, they all agreed that it could not possibly be true, because we would feel ourselves moving. I could not convince them that although we could not feel it, we are indeed hurdling through space. 

Going back to those and earlier memories is always thoughtful and revealing.

Lately I’ve been noodling about space and time. Not just in the physical and scientific sense, but in the spiritual and invisible realms as well. People often refer to the “space-time continuum,” like in Star Trek and other sci-fi series where space and time are not separate, but intertwined and able to be traversed. This idea has always intrigued me, and the episodes where it is portrayed are my favorite ones to watch. 

Over the years, I’ve become aware of something more. There are spiritual things that God has already given us. Things that, in our natural understanding, seem to be in the future, yet to happen; but in reality, they already exist. They are complete. They are done. They are simply waiting, but not waiting in time. They’re waiting in place, in liminal space. Waiting for us to arrive at a certain place within ourselves—emotionally, spiritually, maybe even intellectually—before we can meet them, receive them. And it is God’s Grace and Mercy that gets us there. 

Because God doesn’t exist in time, time isn’t the issue. We are. It’s not about when the blessing comes; it’s about whether we’ve arrived in the place where the blessing already is. That’s a mystery I’m still unfolding, but it feels connected to the space-time idea: space being the place, and time being the process. I have heard it referred to as Future Past, those realities that were already done by God in what we know as the past and that we are expecting to encounter in our future. In reality, we are in both places, whether we feel it or not. Our spirit and soul exist in the invisible realm, and our bodies exist in time, yet they are all connected.

Another thought I had was sparked by an incredible photograph by John Carmichael. He actually flew high into Earth’s atmosphere during a solar eclipse to capture it. It’s too amazing to just glance at when I pass it. It always makes me pause. It’s astonishing just thinking about how the Earth is constantly spinning on its axis, rotating around the sun with the moon in tow, all moving together in space.

And yet… during a solar eclipse, the moon—though tiny compared to the massive sun—can block out the sun’s light entirely, simply because of proximity and where it is positioned in space at that moment. That’s incredible. A smaller object, perfectly placed, can obscure something unimaginably larger. It’s all a matter of alignment, timing, and position.

Isn’t that something?

When I wonder how long it will take to arrive in the future I envision—or what delays may come—I remember that it’s all a journey toward a realm both unseen and within me. We all share it, because we are all connected.

We are all in this together, each impacting, influencing, and imparting to the other beyond space, beyond time. 

Author: Delphia Simmons

Delphia Simmons, Founder of Thrive Detroit, dedicated to amplifying voices and fostering community through storytelling.