Yes, life is short! And I have been getting bombarded with that reminder – in a panicky sort of way.
We downsized big time and moved 10 years ago when we turned 70. It seems like just the other day! And I have loved so much about this home: the view of Pikes Peak from the deck, seeing a full 180 degrees of sky as the weather forms and moves and plays out it’s games in amazing ways – it’s been great.
And now we are turning 80 this year and we need to downsize and move – again! This time finding a more maintenance free environment, no stairs, and less space to clean and maintain.
But…it seems like it was just yesterday when we moved here. Where did those 10 years go? A decade. And what am I finding as we sort through and box up everything? Yes, unfinished projects – especially in my family history materials. Oh dear! Not everything is digitized. So many loose photos, stories, memorabilia are popping up that I have forgotten, need to get into place in the ancestor albums, and time is so short!!
I have been following a blog called Redeeming Productivity by Reagan Rose – and he stated it well recently in the “Life is Short” department. He said the scriptures take great pains to remind us of this truth. And I agree with him that it is, frankly, a little unsettling to sit with.
Psalm 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 39:5 – “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah”
James 4:14b – “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Oh dear, this is hitting home a bit hard for me as all those unfinished projects loom in front of me – especially the ancestor legacy ones. I have taken my marching orders for my Family History business from Deuteronomy 6 where we are told that when our children ask us “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?
“TELL HIM” essentially the story of the Lord’s leading them out of slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt and describe the Lord’s miraculous signs and wonders experienced by their ancestors. All of this to the point stated in Deuteronomy 6:24-25: “so that we might always prosper and be kept alive…. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
Of course, what flashed through my mind is “have I captured the story of my ancestors so that their lives of faith can be an encouragement to us now and in generations to come?” My only answer at this point is that I am working on it! Truly. But I am aware of how much more is awaiting my safeguarding.
Luckily, Reagan Rose had a message of hope for me: “But the brevity of life is not a message of despair meant to drive us to panic. It’s a message of hope meant to drive us toward wisdom.” Okay! Now I definitely am going to “follow” this guy because I need that hope.
He points to Ephesians 2:10 which says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them.”
I loved his reminder that if we are Christians, we are persons “on assignment”. Just as the scripture said, God has prepared beforehand the good works we are to walk in. Just hearing the reminder that God is in control of all of this calms me down to a more peaceful level.
His helpful point is that this should have profound implications for how I think about time and productivity. He says it means that the familiar refrain, “I don’t have enough time,” is actually a lie. Boy, have I said that and heard that so many times! What’s the deal?
Of course, I resonate with his explanation. We can trust that an all-wise God has not given us an impossible task. Those who have been justified by grace through faith, delivered from sin and death, now have the great privilege of serving Him from a place of peace, motivated by love. Boy, do I need that!
He then gets to the heart of the matter for me. He says that because God has numbered our days and laid out our work, we can conclude with confidence: He has given us enough time to faithfully walk in the good works He prepared for us. All I can say to that is “Hallelujah”! I need to stay in that frame of mind.
I do remember someone saying that Jesus did not heal everyone, cure everyone, remedy all the problems in his day, nor was everyone “saved” but he was able to say on the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30) – he had completed what he came to do.
I can already feel myself breathing a little bit easier. I do not need to achieve the perfection I am picturing – the Lord has laid it out and I can trust Him in what He has put before me to do.
So I will end with the perfect ending provided by Reagan Rose.
“Time is short, but you have precisely enough of it.
So don’t panic. Rejoice. Then get to work.
There is no time to waste.”
