📖 "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12
Life is fragile, fleeting, and profoundly precious. Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90 is not simply to count the days, but in Hebrew manah — to carefully assign and weigh them. Every day is a gift, each choice like a brushstroke on eternity’s canvas.
The mayonnaise jar illustration brings this truth to life:
A professor once filled a jar with big rocks and asked his students if it was full. They said yes. He then added pebbles, which filled the spaces between the rocks. Again, the students said it was full. He poured in sand, which slipped through the cracks. Finally, he poured in coffee, proving there’s always room for a cup with a friend.
The jar represents our life. The rocks are what truly matter — our relationship with God, our family, our purpose. The pebbles are our work, responsibilities, and commitments. The sand is the distractions and busyness that quickly consume time if we let them. If we fill our jar with sand first, there’s no room for the big rocks. But when we place the rocks first, everything else finds its place.
Numbering our days with wisdom is not about being busier — it’s about being intentional. It’s remembering that devotion, worship, love, and presence are the rocks. Everything else, though real, is secondary.
Reflection:
What “sand” has been filling my days, leaving little space for the “rocks”? 🤔
Which daily habits could help me place God and worship at the centre of my jar? 🤔
Who or what deserves more of my intentional time before life’s distractions crowd it out? 🤔
Life Application:
Affirmation:
Beloved, you are not called to live overwhelmed by sand. You are called to live wisely, holding space for what matters most — the eternal and the sacred.
Creative Prompt:
Take a clean jar (or even a sketch of one) and symbolically place your “rocks, pebbles, and sand” inside. Label them with words or colours that represent what matters most. Let this visual become a guide for how you spend your days.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, teach me to number my days with wisdom. Help me choose what matters most, to place You first, and to live in alignment with eternity. Guard my heart from distractions that drain my soul. May my days — whether many or few — shine with Your presence and love.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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