Teach us to make the days count

You know how you have those favorite songs that will always be in your head even if you haven't heard them in 20 years.  I have lots of those and a few are by Chris Rice.  He's a funny kind of songwriter who can write both ridiculously odd songs (see: Smell the Color Nine) as well as songs so beautiful and meaningful that the first time you hear them you have to remind yourself to breathe.

One of his that I love is Life Means So Much, its really simple but over the years it has always stuck with me as a reminder to keep priorities in order.  When I'm old and wrinkled and look back on my life will I be so very glad that I always kept the house tidy and had well styled hair and fashionable clothes?  What really even matters?

Last week a lady that I didn't really know passed away.  But she was familiar to me as the mother of a little boy in my daughter's preschool class.  She was diagnosed with spinal cancer less than a year ago.  I try to imagine that struggle that she must have gone through; to figure out a way to say goodbye to someone she loved more than any earthly thing.  Her little boy might only remember her through pictures and videos in a few years.

Then I think about my crummy awful attitude towards my own small struggles and stress over things that will mostly be nothing more than dust when I am gone.  What do I want my kids to remember about me?  How do they see me now?  Have I taught them what's most important?  I believe tragedies like this untimely death are made meaningful by the impact on those left behind and lives that are changed through their example.  

Tonight my sweet, crazy, wild children sat around the dinner table and took turns praying.  "Thank you for my pets, thank you that my family is safe, thank you for our food, help us to be kind to each other..."  And how can I be stressed out about bedtimes, dirty dishes and bank accounts?  The highlight of my day is usually seeing their reactions to life and little silly personalities developing more each day.  My 9 year old is so quick-witted it's scary and has a flair for the dramatic, my 6 year old is a born adventure-seeker with a smile that will stop you dead in your tracks, and my 2 year old is out to conquer the world in her tutu.  My kids are so hilarious and wonderful but often I forget to even notice.  Sometimes I forget to even be nice to them.  Lord, teach me to make the days count.

Life Means so Much:
Every day is a journal page

Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do and believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessings
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketchings

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
Somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So no one's rich, nobody's poor
We get twenty-four hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Has anybody lived who knew the value of a life
And didn't He give His own
To show the worth of yours and mine?

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

-Chris Rice