Make the best of your days

Life has a way of being "daily." We sometimes slide into complacency, taking life for granted. We are not guaranteed our number of years, but we can agree with Job 7:6 that our "days are swifter than a waver's shuttle."

It is so important to come to the end of our life with no regrets … to leave good memories to those around us. It would be sad indeed to not even be missed like the wicked kings in the Old Testament.

So what would you do on your last days? Would you be critical?

Disagreeable" Fault-finding? Negative? Selfish? Hateful?

I think not. I think you would look into the face of those you love, telling them of your deepest feelings. The sunrise and sunsets would become more spectacular. The incredible design of a rose would suddenly have a fascination. Talking to friends, encouraging people and hugging would be a great priority.

Love isn't love until you share it. Love isn't love until you give

it away. Little things mean so much when time is fragile.

I think we would stop to think, "What is my most prized possession?

How valuable is it to me? Does it have an eternal consequence? Can I take it to eternity with me?

Priorities would surely come into play on the very last day. The world seems impatient with time. Children can't wait to grow up. Grown-ups wish time had not passed so quickly. The older ones wish for "the good old days." In all of this process, no one seems to have enjoyed the present stage of life.

God has given the gift of time. How we live our lives is the gift given back to God. So why should we wait until our very last day to spread kindness and love?

Wouldn't it be better to be at peace with God and man cheering others on whenever you can? After all, when life is over, it is only how you've influenced people that make a difference.

Life is at best too short to waste. It is a gift from God, the "Giver of Life." The miracle of the birth of a baby is in itself evidence of the love of God.

So let's not waste time to live and to love. Today is the day to appreciate life and to make the day count.

Bake a pie for a neighbor. Look into the face of a child. Write a note to someone you have long admired. Sit in a swing and enjoy God's awesome landscape. Hold hands with a loved one. Listen to the birds' early morning serenade. Smile and see how many people will smile back.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 give a warning: "… before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."

Solomon also summed up the purpose of life in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the Matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

Make each day the best day.

Portales resident Joan Clayton is a retired teacher and published author. Her e-mail address is:

joan@yucca.net