Daily Devotion - Tuesday, March 1, 2016

4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. 
- Psalm 39:4-5

My wife and I have been reflecting lately on how quickly time seems to be passing.  When you have young children time moves in funny ways.  I've heard it said that when you're raising kids, "The days are long, but the years are short."  The days do seem long sometimes.  

Take today, for instance.  The house started stirring at 6:00 AM with my middle son Jackson getting ready for school, and finishing up his homework.  He needed to check his homework online, but there was something wrong with the keyboard that needed fixing. After a change of batteries we got things going.  Merideth got up and walked the dog. My youngest son arose, and required pancakes.  Then Jackson started practicing his trumpet. 

We'll be scrambling in a while to get everyone dressed, beds made, chores done, teeth brushed and then it's out the door to try to make it to school on time.  As I write this, both of my boys are singing the theme song to the Disney Channel show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" at the top of their lungs.  Mornings at the Nagel-Bloder household are never dull.  

When you string these days together in a week, it feels like a lot of long days, filled with busy-ness, scheduling demands and a whole lot of urgency to get from one place to another.  Then you wake up one morning and you realize that the jeans you just put on your kid are three inches too short, and you don't know how they got that way.  

The other evening, Merideth and I walked through our neighborhood with the boys and the dog, breathing in the cool evening air, talking about our day, enjoying one another for just a few stolen, quiet, peaceful moments.  It was our way of sticking our legs out, digging them into the dirt and slowing the merry-go-round down a bit.  

4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. The psalmist who wrote Psalm 39 had one of those "leg-in-the-dirt" moments.  He pleads with God to remind him that his life is short, that in the great, big, grand scheme of history, his moment in time is just a breath.  He writes that "even those who seem secure," only get a few moments in history.  

My prayer for all of us today is that we would "number" our days, and find ways to slow time into holy moments of sharing, love, peace and togetherness with those we love.  Every day is a gift.  Every moment has beautiful and holy potential.  Life may be short, but the moments when we allow ourselves to slow down and embrace the Divine are eternal moments.  

May you live today full of hope and expectation, numbering your days, embracing the moment and being present where God has placed you.  May you find joy and fulfillment in the little things, the ordinary time.  And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.