This will just take a little time.

The truth is, everything takes time and sometimes it takes quite a lot of it. All of us receive the same 24 hours and we are charged with the responsibility of choosing how we will spend those precious moments.

This week, I returned from a post-Christmas vacation. Our family enjoyed a relatively quiet week together. We ate, watched movies, played video games, and spent our minutes on building family family and celebrating life. We treasured the time, but it passed very quickly.

I returned from vacation to face the death of a man in our church family. He was a precious saint who loved God, loved his family and loved life. As I prepared for the memorial service, the words, “seize the day,” kept coming to mind. Those three words described his life and the were a witness to the legacy he left to his friends and family.

The Christian musical artist, Carolyn Arends performed a song with those words as its title and focus. In the song she sings:

“Seize the day, seize whatever you can
‘Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand
Seize the day, pray for grace from God’s hand
and nothing will stand in your way, Seize the day.”
Seize the Day Video

As I led the service on Friday, I was reminded of the supreme importance of living the life we are given. So often, we are busy trying to get somewhere else, dreaming of something else and wishing we were someone else that we miss the beauty and blessing of being who God made us to be, doing what we were made to do in the place God created for us to be.

Looking back, our vacation was a blessing, but God met me at a funeral to remind me how precious the time we are given is, and how important it is to live life with passion, seizing the day and savoring every moment.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice! Be glad in it, and seize the day!