“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
James 4:14 (ESV)
Someone once said “time is the only currency we spend, not knowing our balance”. Since we cannot know how much time we have, it’s best to spend our time wisely, making the most of each day. It’s become the quote of wisdom that I now keep within my soul these days.
Instead of trying to find ways to live longer, adding more days to our life, God may be calling us to add more life to our days. That could mean different things to different people, since each person is called to do according to what God has equipped them to do.
For me, it means asking God to help me make a small but positive impact in other people’s lives, especially those who have no one else in their life to do so. Though I see some disturbing things while visiting a Nursing Facility, I’ve also found many rewarding moments there through simple things like listening to a person’s story or greeting someone with a hug.
I made a new friend there last week. He was just admitted due to heart failure. I will call him Matt, for privacy reasons. He has no wife or children but he has a niece who visits him each week.
I met Matt while sitting at a table with two other residents. We talked and he began telling me his life story, that he was abused as a child, by his family priest. He ended up in years of psychiatric counseling. It was a bit of a mental and emotional overload to listen to his painful story, but he obviously needed a listening ear that day.
After he openly shared his troubled past, I openly shared my faith with him. I told him God always loved him and knows about everything he has suffered. I encouraged him to keep trusting God, to pursue forgiveness and move forward with the Lord, for better days ahead. He told me that he believes God meant for him to meet me that day, because he had been wanting to renew his faith.
Matt is trusting God and seeks a deeper relationship with Him, in the time he has left. I was struck by his gentle spirit that seems to transcend so much pain in his past. God surely has something good for him in this stage of his life. I am not a counselor, I can only share my faith and trust God to do the rest.
Meeting Matt reminds me of the saying, “time is the only currency we spend, but never know our balance, so we should invest it wisely.” Life is too short to waste being angry or bitter over past hurts. We don’t need a terminal diagnosis to start adding more life to our days. We will find new ways to add more life to each day, because God keeps bring new people to cross paths with ours.
For me, it happens in moments of showing some small act of kindness to others. The smallest gesture can have long lasting effects on a person. It could mean listening to their story, like Matt’s, or saying something uplifting to a lonely resident at the Nursing home, or simply greeting someone with a hug. Adding life to our days means having an awareness that we are not here for ourselves, but are a part of someone else’s larger plan….God’s.
I have learned so much about life through my weekly visits at the Nursing facility. Who would have thought that a tragic life changing accident would open so many doors to shining God’s light in places where so many live in darkness?
Jon’s life has never been the same since his accident, but neither has mine. It has shown me that every life is a treasure, consisting of time, given to us through the currency of days, months and years. Our role is to find our place in the plan, and spend our currency of time wisely.
Lord, help us to wisely spend the time you have given us, by shining your light and love to those you send to us for a reason. Amen
