Time Marches On

Happy are those who are strong in the Lord who set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping it will become a place of refreshing springs where pools of blessing collect after the rains.
Psalm 84:5-6

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Last week, I shared that the book of Psalms is one of my favorites in the Bible. So for the next several weeks I’ll be sharing some of my favorite verses and why they’re special to me.

What I like about the psalms is that random thoughts seem to be just strung together. In some ways they feel “messy” like someone was just pouring their soul out to God without censoring feelings or ideas.

I like that thought—that we don’t have to have it all together to go to our God in prayer. God loves it when his children talk to him, even when we think everything we’ve prayed doesn’t make a bit of sense. It’s not our job to make our prayers make sense. That’s God’s job.

And I’m pretty sure he loves even the “messiest” of prayers. So don’t feel you have to compose a sonnet for God. Bring it all to him, raw emotions and everything and trust him to turn your simple prayer into a masterpiece.

All right, now for the psalm and verse of the week:

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV)

Or as the NLT puts it,

Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.

You know I hate to be a person of clichés but when people tell you that time flies, they’re right. And you know the other cliché, time marches on. All of it is so true. The reason I chose to write about this particular verse in the Bible is because making the most of every day is kind of my goal in life.

It’s something I learned way back in college—when I was longing for the love of my life to make his appearance. But when he didn’t come at age 23, or 26, or 28, I grew despondent. That is until God gave me a revelation of sorts. To spend my days pining away for my future husband was a waste of all the special days he was giving me as a single woman. Slowly over time, I began to realize that I would never get my single years back. From that point on, Make the most of every day, became my life’s mantra.

And not being able to get time back was a huge reminder when raising my kids. Even when the house was a disaster, or we were potty training, or dealing with a three-year-old-wet-noodle meltdown, I chose not to wish those days away either. Instead, I tried to cherish them.

This past Thursday, my kids started school. While there was a part of me that was happy to have them back in school, a little piece of my heart sank a bit lower. Another year of school means they’re one step closer to being all grown up. In my opinion, they’ve already grown up way too fast.

Last summer I was taking two courses to get re-certified as a teacher. Most of my days were spent in front of my computer typing away, reading, researching, or doing projects. There wasn’t much time to just have fun with my kiddos.

But this summer I had a break from classes, a real treat. Going into it, I knew we would never have another summer exactly like it, so we celebrated. We played, swam, vacationed, camped, roller skated, baked and just enjoyed being together. It was a fun summer filled with a lot of happy memories.

Maybe that’s the point of the psalmist’s words: Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. You will never get to experience a day exactly like the one before. You’ll never repeat a day, get a rewind, or a do-over. Every day is like a snowflake unique and one-of-a-kind.

So cherish time. Treasure it. Most of all, use it wisely. Time is a gift. In that knowledge, friends, make each day count--starting with your brand new tomorrow.