Psalm 90:12  “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”  (Living Bible)

Do you read the obituaries in your local paper? Or perhaps the online funeral notices. I had reason to search such a list recently and I found my attention was drawn to several sobering realities as I scanned the page. First, my heart ached when I read about an infant. The entry opened with the words, “Born yesterday, died today.” I felt for the devastated parents, grandparents and friends. Expectations of joy have suddenly been replaced with grief. Precious newly purchased baby clothes must be folded with tears and packed away.

Next, I read about equally loved elders who have lived eighty or ninety years and are now gone. These families must soon sort through papers, clothing and long-stored memorabilia – often with tears – but perhaps also with gentle smiles as days in the distant past are recalled.

Perhaps most jarring are the paragraphs that detail the sudden death of a person in the prime of life. Too often in our scarred, broken world these deaths occur because of senseless violence or tragic accidents. It is during this reading that the psalmist’s words vividly leap to mind: Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should. In The Message, Eugene Peterson puts it simply: Teach us to live wisely and well.

If I knew that my obituary would be written tomorrow, would I change the activities of today? Would I alter my attitude toward today’s activities? Would I allow petty disagreements to linger? Would I harbour ill-will based on incomplete truth? Facts as well as experience teach us that life is short but we too often live as though that obituary will never be written.

Lord, help me live each day with inner joy and a clean slate regarding my relationship both with you and with others.