“Teach us to number our days, so that we may have a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Another translation reads “Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise.” I have reached the age where this verse clearly resonates with me. The Bible tells us that our lives are but a vapor – here, and then, so soon, gone. I can relate. My husband at age 73 left this earth suddenly and in a moment, even as we were hoping for perhaps ten or fifteen more years together.
Just today, as I was searching for a verse of Scripture, I came across a little angel bookmark in my Bible, made from one of my Grandmother’s handkerchiefs. I was reminded that she only lived to be 76 years old…my age now. It was a different world in those days. She was the grandmother who always wore an apron and clunky high heel shoes that laced. She cooked wonderful meals from scratch and always had peppermint candies on the buffet. I don’t ever remember hearing her raise her voice and she loved us all unconditionally. My grandmother never drove a car, even though she worked everyday at Nationwide in downtown Columbus for many years. My memories of her are precious. I am sure she prayed faithfully for each of us! How I would love to hear her voice and chat with her again!
When my parents went to Japan as missionaries in 1955, I bet that my grandparents thought they would never see us again. Japan, so soon after WW II, was a strange and distant foreign land. My father, at only 30 years old, took his wife and his four children, and drove to California to board a freighter ship bound sixteen days for Tokyo. What an adventure! Those were the days before internet, so airmail letters, the best way of communication, would take two, or more, weeks to arrive from Ohio. Sometimes, my grandparents would record a small cassette tape to send news and we could hear their voices.
Our world today is much different. I certainly am not my grandmother’s grandma. I do, however, cherish my two precious grandchildren and so love their parents. I faithfully pray for each of them. I ask God to make me a positive example of right living in the days I have left on this earth. I do not know how many more days I have, but I am thankful that the One, who does know, is always with me. “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on and help me stand”…in a way that will only bring You honor and glory for the rest of my life.