I’ve got a quick exercise for you. Close your eyes and think through the past 24 hours. Think schedule. Think about people. Think conversations. Think about work. Think home. Think commute. Think about sleep. Think about laughter. Think of tears. Think fears. Got it? Ok. Open your eyes and quickly write down who were the people in your life in the past 24 hours? Right down their names. Were there friends? Was there family? Were there strangers? How much time did you spend worrying and stressing out? How much time laughing? How much time planning? How much time reading? How much time vegging out? How much time sleeping? How much time talking? How much time listening? How much time praying? How much time studying? How much time playing with your kids? How much one on one time with your spouse?
Why the exercise? Because doing this periodically reveals insight into your priorities. Often it can be a wakeup call when you see in black and white lost and wasted time, What from your past 24 hours are you especially thankful for? What do you secretly wish you could do a “do-over”?
From to time to time I’m haunted by the words found in the book of James 4:13-14: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
I hesitate to restate what you already know so well. Our life is brief. Don’t take it for granted. When James says life is a mist, take it seriously.