I don’t always know why my mind drifts the way it does. It just does. Sometimes without warning, without direction—like leaves caught in the wind. And here I am again, sitting in an airport waiting area, my body grounded but my thoughts still sailing somewhere behind me.
Five days. That’s all it was. Just five days aboard a cruise ship. Cabin 7592. A temporary home. A sacred space.
For five days, I shared life with my daughter, her husband and my three energetic, joy-filled grandchildren. The laughter came easy. The meals were many and sweet. The time, though full, passed like a breath.
And now, it’s over.
I handed in my room key earlier today. It was just a small piece of plastic—but it opened the door to so much. To presence. To play. To peace. That key was a kind of permission: to step away from the busyness, and to lean fully into love. Into stillness. Into memory-making.
Now someone else will open that door.
And I wonder… will they sense what took place there? Will they notice the lingering warmth of joy and belonging that marked those walls?
It’s in moments like these that I’m reminded—deeply reminded—how fleeting time really is. We say it often: Life is short.But sometimes we only hear the words, without letting them reach the heart. Without letting them change us.
In Hebrew, the word shema means more than hearing. It means to listen deeply—to absorb, to reflect, and to allow what’s been spoken to shape how we live.
That’s what we want. Transformational hearing. That’s what I want.
As I sit here, watching the minutes move and flights board and life swirl all around me, I’m trying not just to hear, but to shema. I’m listening to what time has whispered.
And I remember the psalmist’s prayer:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Lord, I’ve read those words before. Many times.
But today, I feel them. Today, I hear them.
7592 was a gift. So was the time. So is this life.
Brief. Beautiful. Sacred.
So Lord—continue to teach me to number my days.
To cherish what matters.
To hold loosely, love deeply and listen well.
Give me, O God, a heart of wisdom.
Categories: Acts17seventeen Christian Christianity Community Follower Of Jesus
Pastor Mark
Mark, the eighth of nine children born to Reuben and Henrietta Meeks—dedicated church planters with nearly 30 congregations established across California’s Central Valley—is a preacher's kid who grew up immersed in faith and service. With over forty years of experience teaching, discipling, and ministering to communities, including the hospitalized and incarcerated, Mark responded to God's call to pastoral ministry. He holds degrees in civil engineering and public administration, as well as a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Seminary, equipping him to serve with both practical insight and spiritual depth.
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