Psalm 90:12 Archives - There Goes Connie

That’s right. Today is my birthday. My 69th birthday, as a matter of fact. To celebrate, my Silver Fox and I are headed out shortly to Greenwood, Mississippi. We’ll check into the Alluvian Hotel and enjoy a gourmet couples cooking class tonight at The Viking Cooking School. The class is called “That’s Amore,” and the menu sounds fabulous. Don’t worry. You will be reading all about it and seeing lots of photos, I’m sure.

Then, tomorrow we’ll drive to Troy, Alabama, where my good ol’ Charles Henderson High School classmates from 1968 will try AGAIN to have a 50-year reunion. (The one attempted last summer turned out to be poorly attended, so we demanded a do-over). In particular, I’m looking forward to visiting with a friend I haven’t seen since our 10-year reunion. We were great friends in those long-ago days. She was even a bridesmaid in my wedding. Should be fun.

So, the plans for the weekend sound good and hopefully they will lift my normally bright, sunny disposition out of the doldrums I’ve been mired in lately. Do you ever have times like that? Do you have days when your mortality looms heavily? When you realize that if “the natural order of life” comes about, then you are “one of the next to die?” (I told you I’d been wallowing). Maybe it’s that number — 69. Oh, so close to 70. Maybe it’s watching our oldest grandchild graduate from high school and being reminded of the rapid passing of the years. Maybe it’s reading bad health reports on good friends who are very near my age. Maybe my own health scare from back in March is still weighing heavily on my mind. Whatever the reason, I have GOT to get a grip. As the saying goes, “I’m too blessed to be stressed!”

I may be 69 today, but maybe 69 is the new 49. 🙂

Right this moment, I am NOT facing a medical crisis.

My Silver Fox is healthy — healthy enough to keep our yard looking great, to work as a veterinarian several days a week (diagnosing astutely and performing surgeries), to teach a great lesson to our Life Group on Sundays and write thought-provoking blog posts for the church website, and to keep me laughing.

With my Silver Fox at The Plaza in NYC last Christmas

Our 3 children are doing exactly what God wired them to do — parenting, sharing God’s Word, teaching.

With my 2 beautiful daughters, Laura and Julie

Our almost 14 grandchildren are happy and healthy. (Baby Beatrix is due in July).

I have a fulfilling 4th career as a travel writer and blogger.

I have some very good friends.

I am constantly learning new things, and I have this blog as a platform for sharing what I learn.

I know that God loves me unconditionally and continues to have a plan for my life.

So, Happy Birthday to me. God willing I’ll be here for my next, and next, and next. But, if not, then YOU can know that I’ll be celebrating better than I could have ever asked or imagined.

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

Ephesians 5:15-17 – “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Proverbs 15:15 — “When a man is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong; when he is cheerful, everything seems right!” Well, I want everything to seem right. Off with the gloom. On with the celebration!

And one more thing. Andy Rooney once said, “Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.” So, so true.

Psalm 90 verse 12 begins: “So teach us to number our days . . .”

Last Sunday morning we were worshiping at The Church at West Franklin where our son Matt is the pastor. It was Baby/Child Dedication Day. As Matt addressed the parents, he started with the sobering statistic that there are 936 weeks from the time a child is born until he turns 18. A scant 936 weeks. Matt continued by calculating, according to the present age of each child, how many weeks those parents could expect to have with their child before he/she was ready to leave the nest. The faces of the parents of the five-year-old, the two-year-old, the four-year-old, looked very much like the faces of the parents of the twin girls who were only a few months old. Sobered. Startled. Challenged. In the midst of sleepless nights with newborns, potty-training with toddlers and temper tantrums with youngsters, these parents were reminded that their days of influence and training were limited. How important it becomes to avoid wasting even one of them on worrying, misplaced priorities, meaningless activities and prayerlessness. How crucial it is to seize every moment for loving, speaking words of encouragement, modeling godliness and instilling truth.

Matt continued by showing all of us the rest of that verse, the “why” of teaching us to number our days — “that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Not only must we keep learning and studying God’s Word, but we must APPLY the wisdom contained in it. When we are likely in the busiest, most stressful days of parenting, we’re reminded to spend time in the Book to find the answers and to get the guidance we desperately need.

The Living Bible paraphrases it like this: Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Priorities. Valuing each one.

The New Living Bible puts it this way: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” One of my Momma’s most frequent quotes was “life is short.” So true.

The part about “growing in wisdom” continues, I believe, even when our children are launched and our nest is empty. A couple of days ago, I did one of those things that my parents used to do. (How many of you can relate to “becoming your parents?”) I was scrolling through the online edition of a local newspaper and came to the obituary listings. Age 69, age 65, age 62, age 66, age 88. Whoa. Only one name had lived past 70. Steve is 70 now. I’ll be 68 in less than 2 months.

Parents of preschoolers are not the only ones God reminds through the psalmist to “number their days.” Many of us have spent decades studying God’s word and mining it for nuggets, even big chunks and boulders full of wisdom. We never get to stop applying the wisdom that we’ve learned, and there’s still time, as long as we’re still breathing, to find and apply more.

Some thoughts for all of us on the first week of spring, 2018.

Today is My Birthday

The Reason We’re Reminded to Number Our Days

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