Tag Archives: Psalm 90

Love in the Ashes

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Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day collided yesterday.
The juxtaposition of these two holidays was like having
a funeral and a wedding on the same day.
Can a person grieve and rejoice at the same time?
I hope so, because happiness and sadness often walk hand in hand.

My grandparents were married in December of 1919. Five days before their wedding, my grandpa’s mother took her own life. She left a husband and five children, including a 14 year old daughter and an eight year old son. And my grandpa. There was a funeral on Tuesday and a wedding on Thursday.

Ash Wednesday is a day to remember we are but dust.
Valentine’s Day is a day to recognize the wonder of being loved.
We can hold both of these truths together at the same time.
We are loved dust.

The ashes remind us to
hug a little tighter
kiss a little longer
be a little sweeter
try a little harder.
“Teach us to use wisely all the time we have.” Ps. 90:12

The hearts remind us that
love is a gift
often given
in the midst
of sacrifice.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

I hope you had a Happy Dusty Valentine’s Day.
May we all find love in the ashes.



3/1000ths

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Henry David Thoreau said, “If thou art a writer, write as if thy time is short, for it is indeed short at the longest.”

You could put anything in that sentence and it would still ring true.

If thou art a builder, build as if thy time is short….

If thou art a teacher….

If thou art a baker…

If thou art a speed skater.

stopwatch

Last night, an Olympic athlete won a gold medal by 3/1000ths of a second.  How do you split a second into one thousand little pieces?  To someone flying around a track made out of ice at a ridiculous speed, I suppose that’s a plausible concept.  In order for my mind to grasp what that minuscule moment is like, I need to zoom out.

If I live to be 80 years old, I will have a total of 29,200 days to race around this planet.

3/1000ths of 29,200 is 87.6.  In other words, 87 days is my 3/1000ths.

If I live to be 80 years old, I have about 9,490 days left.

3/1000ths of 9,490 is 28.

Life is indeed short, even at the longest.

Psalm 90 carries the subtitle “A prayer of Moses the man of God.”

He wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

I just numbered my days.

Now for a heart of wisdom.