One evening in November last year, after an early 3am start, I walked to my bed, ready to rest my tired body, and happy heart. I had finished reading a biography of my great great grandparents earlier in the day and longed for another story to read. Another adventure to wrap myself in. Another journey to explore. I longed for my parents bookshelf lining the entire wall of our passage in our home where I lived from April 1996 until December 2006. From the start of high-school until I got married.
These bookshelves were laden with all sorts of books. Biographies, novels, fantasy, history, geography, romance, spiritual, theological, practical, self help, encouragement, biblical studies, commentaries, travel, cuisine, atlas’s, national geographic magazines, asterisk and obelisk, you name it, it was there!
I longed to browse those shelves as I had done so many times in my teenage and early adult life. I longed to run my fingers along the books, enjoying the various textures of the book spines, the various colours of the book covers and the various fonts on both. I longed for one more opportunity to do this.
But this bookshelf is gone. It was in storage as my parents transitioned homes and the books and shelves burnt to ashes in a moment of anarchy, anger and selfishness in 2021, during the riots that ravaged Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. One week. One spark. One blaze. An entire opportunity gone.
And as I lay there on my bed, longing for sleep, exhausted after a long day, my heart mourned this loss. My heart remembered the treasure trove of riches I had right outside my bedroom door. My heart was happy for all that I have had in the absolutely beautiful life God has blessed me with, and my heart longed to make the most of every opportunity. It may be the last of its kind.
The Bible – an account I choose to live by – says this: “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 90:12 CSB
It encourages us to number our days. To make the most of our moments. To live in fullness and from fullness. And for what? That we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
Hindsight is always said to be the best perspective. Wisdom is something we long for. Why can’t we have the wisdom so that our hindsight narrative is an abundant, content perspective, rather than one of regret? Well perhaps we can….we just gotto number our days. We gotto think, plan, live, love and dream intentionally, purposefully and abundantly.
We gotto buy the book.
We gotto take the trip.
W gotto make the memory.
We gotto leave a legacy.
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”
hope of heart 