If you have Email and other social media
accounts you get lots of STUFF from friends and family….me too. The
other day I received one entitled, “How Old Are You?” The following
link,
http://www.korn19.ch/coding/days.php, was in the message so I
followed it and found a form where you can type in your birth date
and it will tell you the details about that particular day and ‘how
many days old’ you are. Being 69 and a third years old my day-age
turned out to be 25,334 days. Wow…that makes me sound really
old! I’m not sure what their purpose is in computing how many days
folks have been alive but it did get my attention. I think I can use
the information to remind me to put things into perspective.
For instance; the natural follow-on question
is…how many days do I have left? Also, have I used my previous days
wisely? What will I do with the days I have left? What will I do
differently with those days than I did with the first 25,334? One
thing is pretty certain; I have fewer days left than I have already
used…so do you. I have noticed, for most of the people around me,
that as those days ‘tick away,’ people’s attitudes and perspectives
tend to change… about almost everything. I remember a few years ago
when my first grand son was five years old. When we met them at a
restaurant for dinner he immediately announced that he had learned
to count and then he began demonstrating. I stopped him when he got
to 50 or so and I asked him what he thought was the biggest number
in the world. Without hesitation he said it was 321, because he had
never counted higher than that. We all laughed. Later, during a
restroom break for him he said to his Dad…”Grandma and Grandpa are
really old aren’t they?” And then he said, “I think Grandma and
Grandpa are at the end of the counting.” We all had a great laugh
and I told my son that while I didn’t feel 321, I may sometimes look
321, especially first thing in the morning! My grandson helped us
get some fresh perspective on this ‘aging thing.’
The
Old Testament book of Psalms, Chapter 90, records one on the Prophet
Moses’ prayers to God. In verse 12 he says, “So
teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Do you remember the old saying: “With age comes wisdom?” Well, the
truth is, sometimes age comes alone. The Max Holt translation
of Psalm 90:12 is, “Remind us that time is short and we had better
make wise informed choices about how to live out our remaining days
with excellence, in every area of our lives.”
So, as you
near the “end of the counting” I pray that your choices will be so
excellent that your descendants will be talking about them for
years. Blessings to you as you number your days.
Max Holt, Class 02-67, Association
Chaplain
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