It was a Tuesday during a
thunderstorm on a hot August day, or so I am told. I imagine the sky was dark
and restless, the air heavy with summer heat, and the sound of rain beating
against windows as thunder rolled across the town. Though I was there, I do not
remember the details about the day of my birth. Those memories belong to others
who welcomed me into the world and later told me the story. A few days ago, I
celebrated another birthday, and I am deeply grateful. Each passing year feels
more and more like a gift that should not be taken lightly. What you might not
know is that a good number of my family members did not live as long as I have.
My uncle, my Dad’s brother, Colie Wall Jr., died of a heart attack when he was
only in his late 30s. Peggy, my brother’s wife, died in a car accident when she
was in her 30s more than 30 years ago; her life was taken suddenly when she was
hit by a drunken driver. My mother’s father, Leland Perry, died when he was 65
years of age. My mother, Shirley, died on an August day when she was 66 years
of age. When I think about each of them, I am reminded that life is fragile,
precious, and never guaranteed. I have been blessed to live longer than all of
them, and that truth humbles me.
My first public job was
working as a stock clerk at the A & P Food Store during my high school days
in my hometown of Burlington, North Carolina. I can still picture the aisles,
the boxes waiting to be opened, the shelves that needed to be filled, and the
steady rhythm of customers coming and going. One of the things I learned in my
duties as a stock clerk is that all foods in the grocery store have an
expiration date on them. Bread and meat that had reached their expiration date
were given away. Canned foods were carefully placed on the shelves so the items
with a nearer expiration date were put in the front, while those with an
expiration date further away were placed in the back. It was a simple practice,
but it taught me something that has stayed with me for many years: every item
had a limited season of usefulness, and it mattered how that time was handled.
You know what? You and I
have an expiration date, though it is not stamped on our foreheads or on our
arms. There is going to come a day when you and I will expire, though most of
us do not know when that day will come. That thought is not meant to frighten
us, but to awaken us. It should remind us to live with gratitude, kindness,
faith, and purpose. I am grateful for another year of life, and I am grateful
for each day that God gives me to live on this earth. I do not want to waste
the time I have been given on bitterness, worry, or things that do not matter
in the light of eternity. Instead, I want to love my family well, serve others
faithfully, and walk with the Lord one day at a time.
“Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but toil and trouble…
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
May we all learn to
number our days, not with fear, but with wisdom. May we see each morning as a
blessing, each relationship as a treasure, and each opportunity to do good as a
sacred trust. God bless you all! Have a joy-filled day and a joy-filled life.-- - Pastor Randy Wall
PRAYER
God, I give you thanks for the gift of my life. Help me to live each day with gratitude and
thanksgiving, and to live my days to glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
