Numbering Our Days

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12

It is fall in New England, one of my most favorite times of the year. I looked out my bedroom window this morning to see that my little backyard is totally covered in leaves--red, yellow, orange and brown.

On my walk I shuffled my feet through intermittent piles of those beautiful colors and my mind began to think some of "those thoughts". You know the kind I mean. The "Hmmm, time sure has flown by. Just yesterday the kids were tiny and we were taking nature walks together. Now they are all grown up and on their own and......" Yeah. Fall has a way of doing that doesn't it?

Psalm 90:12 kept running through my mind as I made my way back home. "Teach us to number our days...." You know I'm not sure that psalmist meant for us to try and numerically calculate just how many days we have left but maybe more so that we should keep in mind that our days really are numbered. We really are but a vapor, arent' we? After all, none of us really know how many days we have left, do we? Some of us may have 20 years, some 20 months and some just 20 minutes.

The last part of the verse says "...that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Sounds to me like we don't just come by hearts of wisdom naturally. If that's true then we should make sure we know how to get one. I, for one, am always asking for wisdom. The book of James tells us that if any of us lack wisdom we are to ask of God. I willingly admit that I'm in the lacking category. I want to sign up for as much as I can get.

If I keep in mind that my days are numbered does that affect the way I treat those that I love? How about those that I don't love? How about those that I don't know? How about the one who loves me most?

Numbering my days...... Yes, I need to spend a lot more time on that one.