Time & Aging

On my phone log, it says that I have had 1,537 calls. 440 of those calls have been received calls. 1086 of those calls have been dialed out.

My total number of hours for all 1,537 of these calls has been 108 hours, 23 minutes, and 42 seconds. Do the math on that and that’s roughly 4 1/2 days… just in the past year, spent entirely on the cell phone. I’ve only had this particular cell phone since January 2014. I wish I could go back and see my other phone’s log, THAT would be interesting since I had that phone for over 3 years.

Another interesting thing about this information is that it doesn’t record the number of hours spent texting… I’m sure the number would be even greater and the amount of days would even surpass the call log timers, even though text messages are shorter and require less time, energy, and attention per message. I should hope it wouldn’t, but it makes me wonder…

Have you ever done the math on your own age? Like, to determine how many days old you are… how long you’ve walked the planet according to the 24 hour time-span that is recorded in society as “a day”?

Years are obviously easier to calculate and we do that based on “scientific” study of the earth’s rotation and our birthday, but try calculating your days… it puts things into an interesting light… it makes you count them differently and wonder about things of your life more intentionally, though some may find this overwhelming. It helps you realize just how much time you’ve wasted, how much you’ve spent, and how little of it has been intentional but more often dictated by other things you aren’t even aware of…

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

I’ve spent some time in an assisted living facility these past couple of months. I visit only once a week and it’s a service learning component to one of my courses at school. Today was my last day there. As I soak in the residents who live there and they share stories or tell me their age… I’m given a gift in interacting with them. There is no word for it, but as I intently listen to their stories or as I look into the eyes of residents way beyond the age of 65, my heart is simultaneously filled and emptied. I’m humbled and met with the finite reality of my days and how very little I treasure them in my youth.

Though in my mind and heart, I know I will not walk this earth forever and I am not invincible, my attitude is that I have a future on this planet… so I often use my days in constant pursuit of this future that may or may not exist. Instead of living each day as God would desire me to, I push things off as if I will have the time and ability to expand His Kingdom later… I spend my time on the computer working toward a future, driven by selfish ambition and achievement, working toward a better job that can fill my bank account with “security” or what we call “funds” to use at another future time. Or I spend it on the cell phone, texting or calling people that I’d really rather see face-to-face… but alas, we don’t have time or resources to accomplish such face-to-face interactions these days anymore.

So to cope with that, we instead create our pseudo-connection through social media.. to broadcast to all of our friends and family (or even perfect strangers) our lives, so we can update as many people as possible because we don’t have the time to catch up with them in person… we’re too busy with our “lives”. And doing what? What are we so busy with except the constant pursuit for more? Rarely living in this present moment, seeking the will of God right now.

If you calculate the days you’ve walked around on this planet… you start to wonder about each of those days – at least I did/do. The first time I did the math and saw the number, I was hit with deep conviction and sorrow. I haven’t calculated my days in over a year though now (been too busy to do that, ha!). I realized how few of those days I can actually recall though, but more than that I began to calculate my hours and factor in my daily activities. When these calculations are realized, it’s even more painful. I’m not saying you need to go in that far and deep. If you aren’t prepared for it, you can fall into some major depression. It’s just very insightful and eye-opening to do something like calculating your age in days.

I guess I just have a lot on my heart and mind this evening… I am processing and reflecting on a lot these days. I’m just glad some of it is finally coming out in writing, even if it doesn’t come out too pretty or organized, because I’d had a block for a while. The bottom line to all of this is this…

Time is precious, but we spend it more flippantly than anything else in our lives. I want to number my days and greet each moment with thankfulness to my Savior and in reverence for the gift He’s given me right now. I am not promised tomorrow… and neither are you. Let us not forget this, but treasure the present and each person who is with us in that moment.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. – Ephesians 5:15-17

 

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