It sounds cliché, but… Life goes by so fast.
Here I sit with the calendar telling me it’s the last day of January, wondering where the first month of 2020 went.
Flu, strep throat, a night of vertigo, a cyst discovered on our unborn grandson’s brain, unknown heart issues that put our mom in the hospital, and excruciating abdominal pain that led us to the ER with our daughter caused moments of fear.
Cords of wood cut too long, a tricky remodel project on the loft, and a large shattered mirror to start off a Tuesday morning caused moments of stress.
Misplaced keys on many occasions—I think the count is up to five—and a Jeep that’s been in and out of the shop without resolution caused moments of frustration.
Sickness and medical issues keeping us from seeing our son and daughter-in-law while they were in Colorado caused moments of sadness.
These things could cause a moment of gladness that this month is almost over, but today, when I pause and I think on them as true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admiral, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8, NIV), my perspective changes.
I see how the moments of fear, stress, frustration, and sadness brought opportunities to let go and surrender, to cast all my anxieties on Jesus because he cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). This month strengthened my resolve to abide in Christ, remembering I can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5) and to trust in the Lord with all my heart instead of my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Life goes by so fast, there’s no denying that, but maybe it’s not as fast as it seems. Maybe we rush life when we try to fast forward through the difficult days to get to the better days.
Maybe life could slow down just a little if we remember every day—good or bad—is a gift from God and live each one of them as if it was our last.