What Life is Made Of

There are so many old adages about time. They remind me that I’m not alone in feeling that time just seems to go by too fast. Things like:

Time flies when you’re having fun. - Famous Idiom

Time and tide wait for no man. - Ancient English Proverb

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future (some of you sang that one didn’t you?) - Steve Miller Band

Time Marches On (some of you sang that one too) - Tracy Lawrence

The last few days feel like a beautiful, yet also grim, reminder of such. Not only is our summer well over half way to an end, my daughter has married her high school sweetheart and embarked on her own new journey. As I’ve reflected on this major event in life (that so many of you have experienced before me) and prepared for what to say during the ceremony I couldn’t help but reflect on all the things we have done through the years.

The first cry. The first pictures. The first steps. The first words. The first “I love you.” The first ball game. The first roller coaster. The first fish. The first deer. The first date. And the day she decided to give her life to Jesus.

And then there is that wedding day where she gave her heart to a man that she will commit to honor, respect, and love for the rest of her life. The most important man in her life is no longer her dad. That role gets officially taken and it stings a little. We raise them with the hopes that one day they will soar on their own without us. We pray that they will find a godly spouse to spend life with—and I’m thankful she did.

All of you are in different phases of life. Some of you are getting ready to get married. Others of you are preparing for your first little one. Still more are prepping for retirement, the marriage of a child, or the arrival of a grand-baby. All those events are significant and wonderful moments. So soak them in. Enjoy them.

Ben Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Another well known quote attributed to several people says, “The greatest tragedy is not that life is short, but that we waste so much of it.” The Bible chimes in on this topic as well: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Paul even reminds Christians to “Redeem the time” because the days we have on this earth can be difficult (Ephesians 5:16).

So while time doesn’t stand still, neither should we. There is work to do. There are kids to raise in the Lord. Their are people who need your helping hand. Most importantly, there are souls that don’t know about Jesus. So while time marches on and continues slipping into the future, we can be an army for good who redeem every moment with our family, friends, and neighbors -- and accomplish great things for the Lord.

Ben