The Dash Between

Click here: Psalm 90

REFLECTION

by Mary Alice McGinnis

I have an odd habit. A peculiar fascination. I love visiting cemeteries. I am especially drawn to the older gravestones, where the names and dates are eroded and you can barely make out who is buried there.

I find it thought provoking to think about those people while they walked this earth. What was life like for them? What were their concerns and worries?

As an infant, born as a preemie, I had a rough start in life. The doctors told my parents, “The next 48 hours will be crucial to her survival.”  My dad turned to my mother and said, “God gave her to us. He can have her back if He wants her.”

That was the beginning of my life. And yet, here I am!! There have been a lot of ups and downs along the way. But it causes me to pause and ponder. What is my purpose here? Why am I here in this space in time? You and I are living in the dash between our birth and our death.

The author of Psalm 90 ponders these same things. Did you notice that he begins by stating that God is everlasting? 

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Then in verse 12 he says, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

 How does knowing God is everlasting and we are not help us gain wisdom? The things we often concern ourselves with are like grass. It springs up quickly, and yet soon becomes dry and withers away.

But God’s unfailing love is everlasting. He has shown His amazing works throughout the generations. God spoke and the world came into existence. His Word – Jesus -was with God the Father before time began. Then Jesus came into time, walked our earth, and spread His loving arms wide on the cross to show how much He loves us. When we trust and believe in Him, we can know that we will spend all of eternity with Him.

My daughter wrote this poem for me. It speaks of the sun, or the SON, who brought me back to life. He has given me this life. He has invited you and I to partner with Him into lasting, eternal work, the work of His Kingdom.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Maybe you sense Him calling you back to life right now! 

Prayer – Lord, my life is as fleeting as withering grass, but You are eternal. Keep me focused on what really matters. Remind me daily that the only eternal things are You, Your Word, and the souls of people. Let me be a part of what You are doing. May Your amazing deeds be shown in and through this one precious life You have granted to me!