I attended a hobby club meeting in Georgia lately and enjoyed a beautiful weekend. We political items collectors/historians are a unique bunch, though I suppose this is true of every collector and every hobby since I’ve known some who collect bottle caps, Christmas ornaments, soda cans and matchbooks.
One collector I met had hair samples from barbers who attended famous people!
We had a good banquet and learned a lot from a member of the White House Communication Agency who had worked for five presidents. He’d played bridge on Air Force One with Lady Bird Johnson and watched movies with the Reagans at Camp David.
After our worship time on Sunday morning, some of the group wanted to drive back to a local restaurant for lunch and asked me if I wanted to go. I thought at the time I needed to commence the four-hour trip home, so I politely declined.
But no sooner had I begun my journey than I thought it wouldn’t have been much of an inconvenience to return to that place and spend a little more time with friends I only see once each year. I got back home mid-afternoon, gaining an hour from the time zone, but a bit sad that I’d been in such a hurry.
Perry Como recorded a song in 1958 with lyrics by Murray Wizell:
I'll give my hand, I'll sing my song
I'll share my faith, because I know
That the time is now to fulfill each vow
For I may never pass this way again
I’ve thought a lot in recent months about being in a hurry. Maybe this is part of growing older. True, life presents us with many tasks, and we have to be good stewards of our time and get them done. But on the other hand, we share golden moments with others that we may not have again, and we must learn to prioritize people over tasks.
Many of us have lived long enough to lose parents and grandparents and sometimes think of conversations we might’ve had. We could’ve learned more about our origins and the specific events that made us who we are.
And there are other special people in our lives who leave us too soon. Perhaps we let the moments pass without telling them how much we loved them.
The psalmist wrote, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom,” (Psalm 90:12).
An important part of wisdom is learning to slow down and enjoy the wonderful people God has placed in our paths.
We number our days, we number our friends and family and we number the times we say “thank you” to special people.
