32 850 days. This is the approximate number of days we have if we live up to 90 years old.
10 950 days would be spent sleeping if we sleep 8 hours each day.
That leaves us with 21 900 days of being awake since we were born.
Today, I am officially 30 years old.
That means I’ve spent 3 650 days of my life sleeping if I slept 8 hours each day.
I’ve used 7300 days doing all sorts of things – both worthy and unworthy.
That leaves me with 14 600 days to be awake and do what my heart desires if I am blessed enough to reach 90.
But no one is guaranteed tomorrow. So who knows how many days I still have?
But man, 14 600. It puts things in perspective. It shows the brevity of life. It has become crystal clear that life is finite – at least here on Earth.
As I write this, I began to reflect on the past thirty years of my life. Thirty years of God’s faithfulness. Thirty years of God’s presence. Thirty years of unconditional love.
Did I wisely use the thirty years of my life? Did I really make an effort to include God in those years? Did I allow Him to manifest Himself in my life?
Honestly, not! I’ve been to so many stages of my life where I treated God as my back-up plan. I placed him on the back-burners when everything was at its best. When I feel like I can control my circumstances. But when I can’t control things on my own, I put him back to work.
But God loves me so much. He desires so much better for me. So he put me in a wilderness – not for days, not for months, but for years now. I have painfully resisted and pleaded God to remove me from this wilderness but I’m glad He insisted. I know He is building my character.
In this wilderness where everything is quiet, where no one seems to hear, where opportunities cease to exist, I am beginning to learn who my God is and what it is meant to live.
We are so accustomed to chasing the world’s definition of success – to aspire for the next big thing, to receive a promotion, to get as many degrees as we can, or to have the latest gadget or grandest house. Because the world says, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
So we work ourselves to death and hashtag hustle so we can be the girl boss or GOAT (greatest of all time) we want to be.
But are we really chasing the right thing? Is it really worth it?
You will be surprised that the man who had it all – pleasure, power, money, fame, and intellect – considered it all meaningless. He even said in Ecclesiastes 2:14:
“I have seen the things that are done under the sun, all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
So should we stop dreaming? Should we stop working? Should we stop striving?
King Solomon points out to the ultimate answer to the emptiness we all experience – God. Fearing God and living accordingly is the only true path to happiness.
What if instead of us trying to find significance through worldly pursuits, we focus more on Jesus?
What if we step back from the whirlwind of life and take it all a bit more slowly?
What if instead of embracing exhausted and overwhelmed, we try to be present where we are?
If we consider each day a gift from God and accept whatever He gives us, we can live an abundant life.
We can find joy in the everyday experiences of life.
Maybe it’s the beauty of spring flowers.
Maybe it’s the smell of freshly baked bread.
Maybe it’s the laughter of the little baby.
A lot of times, the simple things are what brings delight. They are the one that satisfies our soul.
So do not wait, my friend. Instead of finding time to connect with your loved ones, why don’t we make time for them?
Instead of waiting to have enough money, why don’t we travel to any place we can?
Instead of worrying about how to leave a mark, why don’t we leave a legacy of Jesus?
Life may be short but living with God in it is a joy on its own. Enjoy your toil knowing that at the end of the day, God is the source of it all.
Don’t tire yourself to death that you forget the very meaning of your existence.
Don’t get so wrapped up hustling that you miss the simple joy around you.
Learn to look beyond earthly things and look forward to the heavenly realm.
As the Apostle James says in James 4:14-15,
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
So start living for God. Be more present. Be more alive. Like truly alive.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next year. But today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hi! I’m Kaye, a journal enthusiast. My blog is dedicated to sharing practical tips to help you gain clarity and purpose as you get closer to Jesus. Read along!
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