"Are We There Yet?"
About five hours up the road,
To see all of our kin,
In the back seat we children asked,
How far along we’d been.
Are we almost there yet,
We asked our Mom and Dad,
And he never really answered,
‘Bout how much time we had.
In that old station wagon,
A rumblin’ through the land,
We got tired of Georgia,
Though Atlanta was so grand.
The biggest town we ever saw,
When I was just a kid,
Enroute to Aunt Ruby’s,
That just what we did.
And at long last we got there,
They all came out to see,
It was good ole Honea Path,
The place we longed to be,
Aunt Ruby lived to 105,
Before she said good-bye,
Mama lived to ninety-four,
Dad sooner, that’s no lie.
My little sister gone across,
With so many of our kin,
I don’t know when I’ll go back,
To see those left again.
But I can say life’s journey,
Is a great adventure, see,
No matter who we visit,
Or what turns out to be.
And, no, we are not there yet,
Our Father has not said,
The time of destination,
But in His Word we read,
That our days on earth are numbered,
And He is Lord of all,
And they will not be shortened,
But depend upon His call.
And we’ll enjoy the journey,
Every day the Good Lord gives,
And look forward to the future,
‘Cause the One who died, now lives.
“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Numbering our days does not mean we simply keep track of our birthdays. It means that we surrender our time to God and use it as He sees fit. Paul wrote that we should “redeem the time because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5) God has entrusted us with time that He then expects us to steward. There is not a person alive who has not wasted time. But God redeems and helps us maximize the time we have left. When we correctly number our days heaven invades time, and eternity interrupts the temporary. We aren’t there yet, but we are very much on the way.
Lord, help us to number our days aright, in Jesus’ name.
Art by Steve Boaldin, used by permission. Thanks, Steve, and God bless you.