"Pause"

There’s a moment in the afternoon,

Just before the night,

Comes most every evenin’,

With the fading light.

You typically are finished,

With the workin’s of the day,

Horses are unsaddled,

And fed and they’re okay.

The sun has dipped down in the west,

The moon is rising, too,

The sky is bathed in colors,

Shades of pink and gold and blue.

There is a pause before day’s done,

It’s quiet like a prayer,

And if you listen closely,

You’ll feel that God is there.

There used to be a sadness,

When it finally came,

‘Cause I was so far from Him,

Another day the same.

But now I know He’s with me,

As the long day says good-bye,

The dusk so filled with twilight,

And nature’s softest sigh.

Now let’s go have some supper,

With something good to eat,

And then we’ll look toward sleeping,

Before the sunrise greet.

The rhythms of the turning,

Of the earth around the sun,

And daily life unfolding,

With the pause before it’s done.

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom…” (Ps. 90:12, NLT)

Life is brief, but you don’t realize it until you’ve lived a pretty good bit of it. When we were younger, life seemed to move slower than it does now. But life moves at the same pace as it always has, one day at a time. And, truth is, it’s how we fill the day that matters. Make no mistake about it, the day is life-changing or can be. The day you say your vows, the day you finally leave or arrive, the day you had your first child or grandchild, the day when Mom died, the day you gave your life to Jesus. The day happens. What fills it makes it memorable. Is it possible to crowd more “life” into our days? I think so, but not without being intentional. I don’t believe it happens spontaneously like some sort of spiritual lottery. No, it’s more like we choose to maximize it, with God’s help. If the Lord is the One who gives us the day, and He is, He can show us how to fill it with the things that glorify Him and help others. And that’s really what our days are all about.

Lord, teach us the brevity of life and give us a heart of wisdom, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, brucegreeneart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bess you.