The
Clock is Ticking
By Carolyn
Hulliberger
“LORD, remind me how
brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my
days are numbered - - how fleeting my
life is.”
Psalm
39:4 (NLT)
Most
of us are slaves to the calendar. We count down the shopping days to Christmas,
the days to a vacation, or a birthday.
Recently,
I was discussing with a friend how time was flying with our high-school
sophomores. The comment was made that we have three years left with them at
home…which turns into just over 1,000 days.
1,000
days doesn’t seem like much time to influence and mentor your child into young
adulthood.
So
I started thinking…here is the countdown to some of my upcoming milestones…
210
days until the last day of school
240
days until the next family reunion
660
days until my youngest starts high school
1,250
days until my 25th wedding anniversary
2,130
days until my youngest heads off to college
2,530
days until my next “decade” birthday
8,036
days until retirement
Psalm
90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (NIV)
I wonder if we all sat down and actually did that…numbered our days. I wonder how we could use that to influence
others. Would we waste less time? Would we spend more time with things that
matter? When we realize our time is limited, how would we change the way we
spent our time with our loved ones, with getting to know our neighbors and
co-workers, or volunteering in our churches and community?
1,000
days may seem like a short amount of time that my sophomore has left in our
home. May we equally be aware and intentional in spending our limited time
wisely.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Figure out the number of days to some of your milestones (hint: Google
“countdown timer” for a help with this).
2.
How can you resolve to be deliberate in impacting others?
FURTHER READING:
Along
with caring for her family, Carolyn works as an insurance representative and
serves in Oakwood
Church’s Student
Ministries with an awesome group of junior high girls.
