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.