Times that are short
April 29, 2010 (Thursday)
A few weeks ago I wrote about Texas and looked high and low for the picture I’m including in today’s blog. Just wanted you to see it. It was taken on Highway 77 before there was an Interstate 35, just south of the Texas-Oklahoma border, in 1953. That young whippersnapper standing beside the stone sign is a blushing young bridegroom returning from a honeymoon trip to Oklahoma’s Turner Falls. Very short trip. Had to get back to class. What a nerd! It is I, just in case you can't recognize him. Nice sign, eh? Looks like El Paso had been knocked off.
I haven’t been to that place on the road in many years, so I have no idea if the sign is still there. From the looks of the map, there is a building there now – most likely a welcome center of some kind, I guess.
The question I have today, is how did those 57 years since the picture was made go by so fast? James said it so well: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14 NIV).
Just call me “Misty.” While you’re at it, call yourself “Misty” too. And everyone else. “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Boy, if that doesn’t humble us, nothing will.
The Psalmist asks God, “Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass that springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought?” (Psalm 90:5-6 MSG).
I must whisper in the ear of the Psalmist, “God is not out to getcha." He was watching over that kid by the Texas sign and has been watching over him ever since. He’s watching over you too, dear friend, whether you know it or not.