Reason #910

I am always trying to figure it out. That’s the planner in me. I want to have a plan and follow a timeline. Timelines are good for projects, but they don’t necessarily work for life. I keep learning this lesson over and over again. I’m sure that, eventually, I will get it. Either that, or it will be the thorn in my side that keeps drawing me back to the Lord.

 

I confessed last week that I am having a little anxiety about reaching my 1000 blog. The end is getting suspenseful, my friends, because I don’t exactly know what the end will look like. Now, the Lord has done infinitely more than I could ever ask or imagine over the past 910 days, and so I don’t expect the trend to stop. But part of me is a little afraid that it will. Rather than rejoicing over the fact that I am nearing 1000, I’m worrying about it. What’s next? What does the Lord have in store? Surely there will be something. I just can’t imagine where we’ll go from here. And I am constantly being reminded about letting go of my plans. About taking it one day at a time. Because God isn’t bound to an earthly timeline. He doesn’t have “windows of opportunity” to act, like we feel we do. God can do whatever He wants whenever He wants. If only I could know the what and when, that’d be helpful.

 

I am realizing that the problem with timelines is you constantly feel like you’re running out of time. It’s always a countdown. King David asked the Lord to teach him to number his days. Yet I find myself counting down the days. Checking each one off and knowing I’ll never get it back. I see these moms who lament over the fact that their children are growing up. Mother’s Day Out and the first day of kindergarten brings tears to their eyes and a hint of sadness that their babies are turning into little people too quickly. But my mom always said she enjoyed watching us grow and reach those milestones. They were little celebrations of time, I suppose you could say. She was counting up with us, not sadly counting down with worry of the future. And I look at my blog and realize that I have counted up to 1000. I didn’t necessarily limit God to 1000 reasons. I started with one and have built on that each day, trusting He would give me another day. Maybe, unknowingly, like David, I have learned to number my days. I have learned to take each one in and really consider it. To not let the pace of life outrun me, although I do struggle with keeping up some days. But the Lord reminds us that we should never fear the future, even when it seems like the days might be running out. Maybe life really is a count-up instead of one big countdown.

 

Well are days are numbered, and the Lord knows exactly what will happen on each one. Day 1, you are born. Day 365, you celebrated your first birthday. Day 1850, you started school. Day 5840, you got your driver’s license. Day 6570, you headed off to college. He recorded every day in His book before you even lived one of them out. And so God has a timeline for you. A count-up to each new milestone. And, if you’re like me, we need to learn to live in the day we’ve been given. To really cherish and enjoy the season we’re in. Seasons change in a moment, sometimes without notice, and days only last for a few hours. We never know what God has in store, but I do know we can’t go back. Only forward. Count-up. Number your days. Don’t waste them away. Don’t fear that they are passing too quickly. God gave you just as many days as He intended for you to have, and He’ll make sure He accomplishes everything He needs to in your given amount of time. Just trust Him with the days you are given. Regardless of the number, He’ll make sure it all works out.

 

#910 - Because God's timeline doesn't run out.

 

"Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past." - Psalm 93:2