Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Friday, November 2, 2040

I had coffee this morning with a long-time friend who is only slightly older than I am. We swapped stories about ourselves, our wives and our children. We shared pearls of wisdom gathered from life and ministry over the more than 30 years we've known each other. We've exchanged Christmas letters over the years, but we haven't been in the same room with each other for probably 10 years. Yet the conversation flowed as if we'd just been together last week. I love those kind of friendships.

During the course of the conversation, my friend mentioned a man he knows who calculated the day of his death. (There are web sites that will do that for you based on BMI, age, general health, etc.) He then purchased a large jar and one marble for each week leading up to that date. Each Sunday he takes out one marble as a reminder of the passing of time. As the jar empties, he gets a visual reminder that every day matters. If, Lord willing, he should live to see the jar empty, his plan is to put a marble back in the jar each Sunday to remind him that each day is a gift from God.

I don't think I'll buy a jar and marbles, but just as the rain last week reminded me of the importance of leaving room for the rain, my friend's story has graphically illustrated three major truths about life:
1) Every day matters.
2) You only get one day at a time.
3) You never get them back.

Since there are no do-overs, I guess we need to count today and make today count.

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