By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith
As I grow older, I have noticed that time seems to move faster. Yes, there are still 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. With seven days in the week and 52 weeks a year still standard, I am often perplexed as to how time goes by so quickly.
With such reflections, it struck me the other day that our lives – in their entirety – could be compared to the twelve months on the calendar. If we lived to 84 years of age, and compare our life to one year on a calendar, each month on the calendar would represent seven years.
With these thoughts floating around, I began to grow sober-minded. By the end of January on the calendar of my life, I was in second grade; a freshman as February came to a close. Melodee and I were married by the end of March. Each month of the calendar moves me closer to the end of my life and my divine appointment with the Lord.
Now, in the midst of August on the calendar of my life, I am refocusing my priorities and asking the Lord, “What would you have me to do with the final three months – the final quarter – of my life?” As I pray, wait and listen for the answers from the Lord, I am centering my thoughts on these key points …
- When God called me into His ministry, it was for life.
- As God trained me for ministry, what did he gift me to do?
- In the years I have been in ministry, what has God blessed?
- When I dream big dreams, what do they entail?
- At my funeral, how would I want this question completed? “Matthew was best know for … “
As you think about your life calendar, what does it tell you? Which season are you in? And what would God have you to do with the next month of your life?
Thanks for those thoughts, Matt. I think I am more likely to live to 72 (my grandfather made it to 72, my dad to 62 and my mom to 57). So I look at it in 6 year increments. At this point in my life, the phrase “rest in peace” is starting to sound GOOD! Marylu and I have repeatedly watched Lawrence Welk, so these are not good signs.
But I have learned you never know what new avenues God may open up. Our best (and perhaps most energetic?) days might be ahead. Our God is so great that He personally directs our steps. We might not feel like we are making that great a difference, but God apparently thinks otherwise, or He would not be so involved with us!
Good thoughts, dear brother!