The Days Are Fleeting: Seize Them

Not long ago we were having dinner at a restaurant in Hilton Head and a couple in their early 30's were sitting next to us with their toddler daughter. The father was teasing the little girl and she was laughing with deep belly laughs.

As we got up to leave I stopped at their table to speak to the couple. It was obvious I was battling cancer because I was as bald as a cue ball and had just had chemo the week before. I told the father, "Redeem the time young folks. Before you know it she will be big and on her own. Don't wish these days away because they will fly by." The father nodded and said, "Thank you, sir." LOL! You know you are old when people call you "sir". I went on to explain that my little girl was now a junior in college and it seemed like just yesterday I was teasing her in restaurants.

While he acknowledged my observation I'm not sure he fully grasped what I was saying. When we're younger and time seems soooooo long we tend to think it's not moving very fast. Redeem the time folks! It flies and it's precious. Future time with family, friends and those we love is not guaranteed. The days are fleeting. The moments are precious and we need to take every one of them captive. Drink it all in. Seize the day. Savor the days God gives you with loved ones. There's no contract that tomorrow will come in the way it did today. Redeem the time!

Last weekend amid a strong reminder in our family that life is precious, we got the rare opportunity to celebrate at a family wedding in Charleston. Our daughter-in-law who is full with child and about to go any day was unable to go with us. We missed her deeply, but as we pigged on baked clams I just smiled and thanked God for the time with our kids. That time will never pass this way again. Live every day like it's your last because in a fallen world it very well could be. The Psalmist understood this: "Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." (Psalm 144:4)

Redeem the time!

P.S. I'm looking forward to redeeming the time with our first grandchild in a few weeks. You can bet I'm going to seize every moment I can as I battle two godly grandmothers and her other grandfather for time to hold her, LOL!