What is something most everyone wants but can’t afford (at least not yet)? What is that one thing that we value so much as we grow older that we wish we had more of? Time, the unrelenting, respecter of no persons phenomenon.

According to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions of time is, “a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future.”

Some of you might understand this definition better: “like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” It’s from the long-running Soap Opera called Days of Our Lives. I remember those profound words thanks to my mom back years ago when she sometimes watched it! Time can be measured by our days.

There are numerous verses in the Bible that emphasize how short-lived our time is on this earth. Everyone and everything has a life expectancy. The more time passes on, the more we are baffled and asking, where has the time gone? I was fourteen years old wishing time would hurry up and now I’m wondering what happened to it and how I got so old!

How do you define time in your own personal life? Is it something you wish you had more of or even less? Are there moments in time that you wish you can relive? It might be those precious moments you had with a parent, child, spouse, or friend that you will never have again. Time keeps pressing on relentlessly. Time is so precious.

The choices that you make today do influence the now and tomorrow. Even more than you realize. Instead of viewing time in a negative light, let’s look at it from a new perspective. Let’s look at it as an opportunity.

      So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Proverbs 90:12

If you knew how many days you had left, would you live them out in a more meaningful way? Would your priorities still be the same? Our time here on earth is an opportunity to live a meaningful life. To choose to impress a mark on this world with the people living it with us and even those yet to come. What values are you passing on to the next generations? What is that you have to say that might spread hope? What are you leaving behind when you go?

The history of the Egyptians has always been fascinating to me. Their technology and their architecture of the pyramids still baffles me. They believed they needed to have items with them for the afterlife. Some were buried with their most prized possessions and what they believed would benefit them in the afterlife.

What really strikes me is that they truly believed in their religion and afterlife. And what has become of their bodies, tombs, and prized possessions today? Their bodies have been preserved remarkably well along with their items. Nonetheless, their bodies have still wasted away and their possessions have been looted. What they placed their hope in turned out to be false.

My hope is that I leave a lasting mark of encouragement, truth, faith, hope, and love to those here now and to come. I hope to speak and share life with others to transform their perspectives for the better. Jesus is the ONLY way, truth, and life. My hope for you is that you come to realize this now before it’s too late.

As long as you’re still breathing, you still have the opportunity. Even if you’ve been through and seen the worst, God can use what you’ve been through, if nothing else, to spread hope to others. Time truly is a gift. Don’t waste it. Enjoy it and make the best use of it while you still can.