525,600

tomorrow i will be celebrating my 31st birthday. a year older.. and hopefully a year wiser ü and as with special occasions, this is another one of those times when i pause to reflect on what’s happened to me for the past year.

at first blush, “one year” doesn’t seem like such a long time. but after doing some mental math (ok, i admit, i had to use a calculator), i realized that 1 year = 365 days = 8,760 hours = 525,600 minutes. i know.. it’s practically the same amount of time. but looking at that really big number kinda put some things in perspective for me.

“..in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. in 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in life?”

so goes the song (“seasons of love” from the musical, ‘rent’). if it’s true that every moment counts, then those 525,600 minutes represent short yet extremely irreplaceable moments. they are minutes that may be used in so many different ways. to smile at a stranger or say hello to a friend; to kiss a loved one or to hold a sick person’s hand; to give a hug or to text an inspiring thought; to utter a prayer of thanksgiving or to give an encouraging word; to say what’s in the heart - like “i love you” or “i’m sorry.” the list goes on and on..

when i look back at the year that’s passed, i’d have to admit that out of those 525,600 minutes, quite a number were spent unwisely. there were those times when i frowned or glared at people.. moments when i hurried past my friends. i’ve been guilty of taking loved ones for granted.. and of being selfish in giving my time and energy to those who are closest to me. there were occasions when i failed to give a kind word to someone who needed it. i often refused to say what was in my heart. and lot of times, i neglected to thank Him for His blessings and his grace.

“525,600 minutes. 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes. how can you measure the life of a woman or man? in truths that she learned, or in times that he cried? in bridges he burned, or the way that she died?

..how about love? measure in love..”

525,600 minutes. that’s the same number of moments given to all of us each year, brothers and sisters. the only difference between a bad year and a good one is how much love we put into each of those minutes ü as sisters yna, loly and maris said in their sharing last week, every moment is a gift from the Lord. there are no such things as “bad” times when we are walking the Christian walk. every minute is an opportunity for us to experience God’s tremendous love ü we are alive - to witness to His goodness, mercy and love. that, in itself, should make us truly grateful ü

thank You, Lord, for the past 525,600 precious minutes You have given me. help me to use the next 525,600 ones to share more of Your love with others.. and to give more of Your glory back to You ü