Like Sands Through the Hourglass, So are the Days of Our Lives

Today I had the privilege of giving haircuts to an elderly homebound couple whose daughter is a good friend of mine. They both had been in the hospital recently and both were in dire need of haircuts.

When I arrived at their home, a young lady was sitting in as a caretaker for the couple. Their daughter, granddaughter and I walked in and their faces seemed to light up at the monotony being broken for the day. We talked for a moment and then came up with a plan for how to set up shop around the furniture, using a wheelchair as a shop chair.

As I worked away cutting the little lady's long silver locks into a spunky layered bob, I couldn't help but notice how much life had happened around them in years past. Pictures adorned the walls in the living room and down the hallway, family photos of children and grandchildren. Some of the pictures were from many years ago, when their daughter and her siblings were children. Others were more recent, with their adult children holding babies of their own.

There was a shadow box on the wall that contained several medals and some dog tags from the man's days in the army. As I cut his hair, he told me a little about being sent to Korea as a young man, and about how cold it was there. He also told me that most years since then he has cut his own hair, then proudly showed me his little razor-comb that he bought for a dollar many years ago. As I snipped away, Bonanza played on the television in front of us.

I thought a lot about my own aging parents while I was there, and I also imagined what it will be like when my day comes to be in their shoes. The pictures on the wall, the medals proudly displayed..those are reminders of the life that once was: A house full of children and playful days, hard times raising a family, getting up to go to work every day. School buses dropping off the kids in front of the house, dinner on the stove and laundry hanging on the line.

Those are the days of our lives. Those are the days we think will always be, until one day, when our bodies tire out and we sit down to rest and then realize how fast it all went by us. How blessed are the normal days, the days we have the ability to mow our yards, take a walk in the neighborhood, wash our cars and play with our kids. How blessed is the life we have now, each minute of every day that God Himself has afforded us. How blessed.

Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

    My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart

    and my portion forever.