The gift of years

By Robert Hurtgen

A while back, I came across a passage from the Bible that I am certain I have read before but have never really seen.

As I was enjoying the rich and sultry warmth of morning coffee, Genesis 25:8 leapt off the pages, reading, "Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people."

The context of Genesis 25 is the death of Abraham. God called Abraham to follow him in chapter 12. The next 13 chapters cover the next 100 years of Abraham's life.

Following Abraham's story, it becomes very clear his story, as it is with our own, is more about God working through him.

Abraham had the gift of years. Every man and woman across the globe is gifted only a few years.

Hygiene, food sources and access to medical care have greatly lengthened the lives of many, but death excuses no one.

Often we can become overwhelmed and burdened by the circumstances of life and the challenges that we face. We may find ourselves agreeing with the mantra of a mother with small children, "The years are short, but the days are long."

It is easy to forget that each day, each month, each year is a gift. They are precious. The gift of years should remind us to treat the years as a gift. Don't wait for that phone call. Don't wait to take your aging parents out to dinner. One day the kid you always read to will be able to read by himself. The girl you taught how to drive will drive away.

The second portion of the phrase leapt off the page: he was full of years.

To be full of years is to be satisfied, content.

To be full of years is be in a place where it is OK to just be. It is to stop chasing after the baubles and trinkets that shimmer while ignoring the cry of "just one more hug" from the 7-year-old.

Being full of life is deeply leaning into the Lord. It is, despite the many mistakes we make, realizing that God makes all things new.

I pray when my days are done, it will be said that I was old and full.