Make the most of the time you've been given

Summer has officially begun. At least by the calendar – I'm not certain that the thermometer agrees. On the wall in our home is a list of summer activities; all the things that we want to try to do this summer. There are simple things on the list like going to the pool or reading a classic children's book. When summer's over, to complete the "what I did on my summer vacation" paper, all my kids will have to do is look at the list.

Psalm 90 contains a different kind of list. Moses reflecting on the whole scope of life speaks of the value of life, the toil endured during his life, the blessings given to the people of God and the average years lived. Towards the end of the poem, in verse twelve, he writes, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

There is a plea here that reveals a core to building more than a great summer.

Recognize there are a limited number of days. In the same way parents number the days of a summer break, so to we are encouraged by the Bible to recognize we each have a limited number of days. We cannot make the most of the limited days we never learn and live in light that there is a limited number of days.

Since there are a limited number of days, a value must be laid to each one. The scriptures aren't teaching a Carpe Diem mentality; seizing the moment because the moment may never come again. Scripturally recognizing a limited number of days drives us into the question of how can you and I use each one for what really matters.

They are days. They are moments. A life is built not by crossing the finish line, but by taking each step along the way. One of the requests in this prayer is to recognize the day as long as it is today. The day for which you are needed the most. The day, the season for parenting, being a grandparent, sitting as a friend.

The gain requested in this prayer is wisdom – what, why and when. To think of tomorrow in a way that changes today, you and I must ask, when we have reached seventy or eighty years, is who is it that we want to be? How do you want to be known if tomorrow changes how you live today?

What's on your list?

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.