51 years, 18,980 days....I won't try to figure the hours and seconds - that is math, after all.
I don’t think I’ve lived up to the “old lady” image I conjured up as a child, but, pretty sure one day I will. I will look in the mirror and want to run straight to the tailor and ask that my birthday suit be taken in and hemmed up! I will want to try out my granny’s nighttime Vaseline face regimen. The part of Karen that the world measures against its standards of worth and beauty will one day disappoint. But, God looks at the heart, wherein lies true beauty and eternal hope.
So, you get it - yesterday marked 51 years of Karen. Happy Birthday to me? For some reason, at the end of the day, I felt a bit sad. As if the day held no real significance. It was as if turning 50 had been better! I mean, that was an age that has its own section in the greeting card aisles. People marveled at such a number. "Wow, you look great for 50!" Lots of milestone cards and congrats.
Who decides on milestones? Like the ones on the interstate highways. What about the miles in between? They aren't that important? Why don't they get a special sign?
And what happens between the ages of 51 and 60?
God only knows. He does not reveal to us the number of days we will have on this earth. But I can decide how I will spend each one of the 1440 minutes/86,400 seconds I have in one day (had to google that). Will I waste them feeling angry, resentful, jealous, spiteful, or indifferent? Or will I spend each one as if it is my last, encouraging others, lending my time and resources, saying thank you, I love you, I forgive you… will you forgive me?
Wisdom of the heart. That is what I pray will grow exponentially within me each passing day. Hopefully, my suit-size won't expand as well. But, as I begin the decade-long slide into the next Hallmark Card milestone, I want to remember to number my days. Not as an age-marker, measuring how much time I've lost, or might have left. I want to consciously look at each day as an opportunity for God to enlarge and soften my heart, expand my mind, and intentionally show love and kindness to everyone I meet.
"Teach me to number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12
"Teach me to number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12
