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Who
understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that
is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart
of wisdom.
– The Psalmist (Psalm 90:11-12, NASB)
I love dessert. That’s why I have to
exercise regularly to control my weight. I jog three miles, three times a week.
On non-run days, I lift weights. Sundays – well, Sundays I look forward to my
nap on the couch after Nancy and I return from Mass.
So there I was at work one Monday,
about 15 minutes after showering away the effects of an unusually grueling
lunchtime run in 90-degree heat. I ignored my exhaustion and decided to take
the stairs from the ground floor to my office on the sixth. By the time I reached
to the fourth floor, my legs felt like mush. I almost heard them whimper at me
to take the elevator.
I
ignored their appeal and pushed on.
A moment later, down the stairs
trotted this bouncy young lady – all of twenty, I supposed. Her broad smile faded
into an uncertain grin when she saw me. By now, I was holding onto either side
of the rails and pulling myself up each step.
"Are you okay?" She
stopped a few steps above me. I heard in her tone the same concern I use when I
meet elderly people who look as if they really need to sit down.
"I'm
. . . fine," I managed to gasp between breaths. "Thanks."
"You
sure?"
I wanted to tell her I'm in great
shape. I jog three miles and all of that – but thought better of it. When I
nodded, she gave me one more cautious glance, and continued on her way. I
toughed out the next two flights – grateful to finally reach the sixth floor.
I thought about that incident later
as I drove home. It seems like only yesterday I was the one bouncing down the
stairs, full of twenty-year-old energy. So, when did yesterday wilt into today?
When did energy morph into exhaustion? Before we realize it, we are the elderly person we once tried
to help, and we understand why the Psalmist asked God to teach us to number our
days, and why St. Paul wrote: “Watch carefully then how you live, not as
foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the
days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).
I’ve learned this lesson before, and
I guess I needed to learn it again: When our yesterdays and todays terminate at
the graveside, we won’t care how much money we've earned, how many awards we've
won or how many miles we've jogged. What we will care about – at least, what I
will care about – is, have I done all I could do for the King of Glory with the
days that I had?
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