Good morning, DearHeart.

It seems to me as I get older, I get a fresh take on how quickly time passes. Or to put it another way, how old I am becoming. I think of those who are already gone, trying to figure out how many more years are a possibility. There is no way to ever figure how much time one has left yet it is a sobering thought.

Life is short …

”Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” (Psalm 144:4, NIV)

”Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” (Psalm 39:4, NIV)

”Remember how fleeting is my life.” (Psalm 89:47, NIV)

There you have it – life is fleeting –

rapid,

swift and

transitory.

There’s one other thing I am learning –

Life is also long ….

”For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:4, NIV)

”The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty if we have the strength.” (Psalm 90:14, NIV)

”With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16, NIV)

So how do we find the balance between days which are long and fleeting at the same time?

This question brings me back to the quote which began all this.

We must live each day, knowing life is temporary, while also believing the manner in which we live each day truly does matter.

The poopy diapers,

the sniffling noses,

the injuries,

the sibling squabbles,

the tight finances,

the illnesses,

the struggles,

the difficult relationships.

The ups.

The downs.

The wins.

The losses.

The tears and the laughter.

The piles of laundry,

the sleepless nights. The meals and the ones we burn beyond recognition.

The sticking it out when it seems it would be easier to walk away.

And now the real snow (!).

Yes, we embrace and believe He has purpose in it all.

“Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and it is all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, MSG)

Every single one of your days matters.

Believe it!

“Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me. O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.”

Psalms 144:1-5 NLT

Wake up.

It matters.

Go.