Nancy Hughes: What are you waiting for?

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

I listened as the man standing beside me quietly shared what he and his children had missed out on through the years with his parents: fishing and hunting trips, evenings by the campfire listening to stories about how his parents, the grandparents, had met. 

The words were spoken softly but with such sadness and regret and tears: “My folks celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary . . . I can’t believe it! Where has the time gone? I’ve just been so busy . . .”

I couldn’t help my response. “Looking back on whatever has happened in the past can help you focus more clearly on what should happen in the future! Go talk to your folks. Make plans TODAY to take your kids to see them. Plan a fishing trip! There is still time. It’s not too late. What are you waiting for?!” He wiped his eyes and nodded in agreement. “What’s that saying? No time like the present! I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for.”

But here it is, 10 years after that conversation, and he has yet to take those first steps and make time so his children can see more of their grandparents. Why? In all fairness, there will always be daily events in our lives that have to be addressed, like raising children and taking them to school and sports events, and music lessons.

And it’s important to have careers and relax on vacations and do laundry and wash the car. But nothing – absolutely nothing – should take the place of spending one-on-one time with those we love and making memories that will last a lifetime.

The score of that big basketball game will probably not be important or even remembered by the next season. And if a music lesson is postponed for a week so that an overnight camping trip can take place with grandfather, father, and grandson, the loss to the music world will not be irreparable.

We are cautioned in James 4:14 to remember that our lives are a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” It reminds me of taking a breath and blowing it out on a cold winter day. You see it for just a second and it is gone. That truly is the length of our lives on this earth. Not one of us is guaranteed another day, much less another minute.

So where are your priorities on this beautiful day? Yes, yes, yes . . . I DO understand that you have children and a husband and commitments and a job and a lawn to mow. And I also understand that there will always be those commitments to take care of every day.

But, dear friends, one day it will NOT matter that your dishes are done, or your windows are cleaned or that you spent a Saturday watching television. What WILL matter is whether you took the time to visit a loved one and shared a day of just being together. Please, before it is too late, before that mist vanishes forever, make time for those you love. What are you waiting for?

R.A.P. it up . . .

Father, open my eyes to the ones I need to spend time with and help me to make time for them. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Reflect

Do you have a family member that you have intended to visit but have put off seeing them?

What has kept you from visiting them? Is it more important than your time with those you love?

Apply

Make a list of family members and friends that you have intended to visit as soon as you get other things done first.

Schedule out those things that truly can wait or be postponed and schedule in time with your family and friends. Call them today.

Power

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

James 1:10 (NIV) But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.”

James 4:13-14 (NIV) “Now listen, you who say ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)