A Shooting Star

Time is beginning to bother me.  The passing of it. I was a child, each day seemed endless.

It is said that, barring trauma, the ages ten years and below are the happiest in life.  There is little responsibility, lots of free time, excitement in nearly everything and hope.  Then, time shifts into another gear. For awhile, things move deliberately. While in high school, one of my sons said, “The thing I like about summer is that nothing carries over.”  I’d like to go back (sometimes) to the time of innocence, excitement and fresh possibilities. But things carry over for me now. I lay down with burdens and rise to carry them another day.

Life gets busy- what with families and all.  We may not regret the days of activity or the choices we made, yet we mourn for lost time and wonder if it could have been better spent.  And the opportunities are gone. I say we don’t regret the choices we made, not because all of our choices were correct, but because we learned from them, and God used them in our lives.  Before we know it, life and time are past. We find that the Scripture really is true when it says our life is a mist. The brightest of us are like meteorites streaking across the sky that only last a second or two and can only be seen by those looking in the right place at the right time.  Truthfully, most folks aren’t looking anyway.

What am I to do with the moment I am on earth?  The poet wrote, “It is not growing as a tree, in girth, doth make men better be.”  I don’t have endless life and opportunity, but does that mean I can’t impact this world and the future by my having been here?  One thing I can do is live now. We’re always commencing to get ready to begin. The Bible says that right now is the only guarantee I have.  If I want to accomplish something, I need to start. Since my time is limited, I should also limit my options. I can’t do everything. Even if I had the ability, I don’t have enough time.  So, I need to be simple and straightforward. I might have to eliminate some things from my life and my “to do” list.

Jesus had two commands and a commission for us all.  He said we should love Him above all things and others as much as we love ourselves.  If we do these, our lives will be immeasurably better. We will have the smile of God and the smiles of those around us.  I could do with divine and human support. These carry even to eternity, but a third is the real point of impact. Our Lord committed to us the message of salvation and redemption to be shared with the world.  If we all do our part in the sharing, we could reach the world for Christ. And that changes eternity.

I won’t be here long.  You may never see my brief, flickering star, but I’m going to impact today and tomorrow.  Starting now.

Sterl