Analog Time Keeping

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Are you old enough to remember car dashboards before the digital age? Remember how the odometers worked? The numbers would turn very gradually, one little 0-9 dial for each place— the ones, the tens, the hundreds, and so on— so that when it turned to 100,000 miles, for example, you had the excitement of watching five “9″s all roll over at the same time to “0”s. I remember my dad would always point out when the vehicle was about to hit a new milestone so my sister and I could watch the numbers change over. I’ve tried this with my kids, but it’s just not the same with that digital *poof * and there’s your nice round number.

At school we recently read about where the term “milestone” comes from. When the Romans built their famous roads in ancient times, they put a stone marker at each mile to help travelers keep track of distance. Again, we have technology to assist with this nowadays, but the term “milestone” has come to mean the marking of a special or significant moment in the journey of life. We used to feel excited to watch our cars reach that 100,000 mile mark. But that’s nothing compared to the excitement of graduating or reaching ten years of marriage, or turning 50, or whatever it might be.

I realize not everyone gets excited about turning 50, but we all know getting older is a privilege that many are denied. And it’s an important part of healthy human existence to mark special moments, to celebrate the reaching of special points along the road.

Why do milestones matter? I guess it’s because they serve as reminders of what has passed; the work that it took to reach a goal perhaps; the lessons learned along the way.

They also give us hope for the future. If we could make it to this point, with God’s help we can make it to the next milestone.

I recently saw a devotional by Ray VanderLaan in which he explained that he wears a watch with hands, rather than a digital model, as a reminder that he has a past and a future. Yes, we want to be “in the moment” rather than be distracted with worries about the past or the future. But there is much we can learn from the past. And without any consideration for the future, we might be tempted to live without regard to consequences. This is why at the end of Christmas Carol, Scrooge says, “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.”

How do we stay properly aware of past, present, and future? If ditching the digital watch for an analog timepiece with hands is helpful, go for it! Personally I still keep a physical monthly calendar on my wall next to my desk. It keeps upcoming events before my eyes, providing extra reminders to prepare for things.

But being prepared for an appointment or a presentation is nothing compared to being prepared for the day of one’s death. And a calendar won’t help us there. We need “a heart of wisdom” to recognize that life could end at any time.

Sometimes death happens quickly, like a digital clock— *poof * and it’s over. Sometimes we have plenty of warning and it slowly changes from a bunch of 9’s to 00000. But every day leading up to that last moment is full of moments. Some of them we should be celebrating. Some we should be using more wisely.

We know that eventually time will run out. For all the milestone birthdays we reach, eventually a milestone birthday will roll around and we won’t be there for it. That’s why it’s so important to learn from our past and prepare for the future. Because if my body doesn’t last to my 120th birthday, my spirit will still be living on somewhere, some place where the concept of time is obsolete, where I won’t need an odometer, or a calendar, or a watch.

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Dear God and Father in heaven, please forgive me for all the Time I have let slip through my hands. Give me wisdom that I may use every moment of every day in accordance with your will. Show me when I need to work, when I need to rest, when I need to celebrate, and when I need to give. Help me to be thankful for the life You have given me and hopeful for the future You have prepared for me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins