After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live. [Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (MSG)]

Lord, where did the years go? It seems like it was just last month that I complained about the fingerprints on the windows and mud on the floor; now I can go weeks without washing the windows or mopping the entry. I protested to my children about the noise and now our house is silent. I was just complaining about my teen-agers and now they’re adults with teens and pre-teens of their own! It feels like just yesterday that we were grousing about work and now we’re complaining about how busy we are in retirement.

Lord, thank you for this day. Don’t let us waste a single moment of it in complaint. While some seasons of life may be more challenging than others, show us how to appreciate each and every one of them.

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. [Elizabeth Kübler Ross]

Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour, remembering that there will also be many dark days And that most of what comes your way is smoke. [Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 (MSG)]