Numbering Our Days

Teach us to number our days aright,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

One of the elders in my life died.  She’s known me since I was a baby.  She was my neighbor. She was a friend to my mom.  She babysat me.  Her daughter and I grew up together in the same building & went to each other’s birthday parties.  I paid my final respects to the elder at her funeral.

The funeral rite is a powerful reminder of how few days we have on this earth.  The rite also gives us an idea of how we should be living.  Even though I cried through the funeral, and afterwards, I also laughed and sang.  When a beloved person dies, their funerals are beautiful.  I got to see a lot of people from my youth.  The euologist spoke at length about how the deceased touched his life, believed in him, and helped him to become the man (and pastor) that he is today.

The funeral program mentioned that, at her last, she was surrounded by loving family; and special mention was made of one friend who was there.  The two of them had been friends for over 50 years.  That was a lovely detail.  I’m not yet 50 years old, and I’m always awestruck by people who have been engaged in something for longer than I’ve been alive.

I used to gather together before Sunday service with the First Lady of our church and other congregants for prayer.  The First Lady would consistently pray over our Sunday School, afterschool & summer programs that our children would grow up as well-watered plants in the house of the Lord.  I always prayed that the children who came to our church, or church-sponsored programs, would make lifelong Christian friends.  The thought of having a group of Christian friends to walk through this life with – through elementary school, through the first date, through weddings, deaths, work, accidents, jobs and job losses, and having their own children – is a powerful and sweet thought for me.  It’s a blessing.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

Planted in the house of the Lord,

They will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,

They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming

“The Lord is upright;

He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Psalm 92:12-15