The Hourglass

Consider the hour-glass; there is nothing to be accomplished by rattling or shaking; you have to wait patiently until the sand, grain by grain, has run from one funnel into the other.

“Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…..”

Yes, I see the hourglass, often race against it.

Most days it’s as if my feet hit the floor and someone, (I’m not sure who) turns that hourglass over and the race is on, just to get through the day. It’s like a bad board game.

If  I’m honest, (and I do try to be) I don’t always notice the ‘ grains of sand’ that make up that hourglass. The hourglass of my life. I live my life often missing the grains of sand that when added together become the beautiful beach of my life. I am treating it as a timer rather than noticing all it’s made up of.

Over the years,  I’ve  found that simply pausing to notice these grains of sand in my life brings me closer to the One who created it all. Noticing them causes me to pause. Noticing the grains perpetrates a grateful heart. These sands, which alone appear insignificant, add up to days, weeks and eventually a lifetime; and in turn a legacy. The legacy of my life.

So I pause.

I pause to notice the grain of sand that ‘slams’ as each person enters this home. It’s a sign that the door is open, where there will always be a ‘light on for you’ and hospitality dwells within.

I pause to notice the grain of sand that is a conversation with a struggling teenager as I am blessed with an opportunity to impart some wisdom from my own walk. The conversation that I’d rather not have, but when I pause, I see that it may be a conversation that makes a difference in a life.

I pause to notice the grain of sand who is the patient art teacher who encourages and edifies as he helped reveal the gifts that were hidden inside of me, gifts that up until then have gone unexplored.

I pause to notice the grain of sand in the boxes of food counted and loaded for the local food bank I pause too at the knowledge that this room full with over a half ton of food will only supply the people for three days I pause to notice the abundance in my own cupboards and I am grateful.

The grains of sand are many, and at times I treat them as if they are more like ‘sand between my toes’ rather than the disguised blessings that they really are.

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.”

Psalm 39:4

Each of these grains of sand are all gentle reminders of who I am and the life that surrounds me. Each one is, upon observation, part of a much bigger picture. These ‘grains’ are a reflection of this life. A life that is often consumed and preoccupied with the ‘to do list.’ A life that often turns over the timer and misses the grains of sand that make up a very blessed existence.

A rushed life.

It is indeed fleeting and it is indeed a race, but at the end of the race, I will either hear, “what in world happened to YOU?” or I will be privileged to approach the finish line hearing these words; these beautiful words:

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

Matthew 25:23

Pause and reflect on the grains of sand that make up your life. Minute as they may be, they are part of a much larger picture. Lest we ever forget that they are continually pouring out; they pour out onto a much larger canvas….a masterpiece called your life.

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