Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 NIV, 10-3-12)

In West Virginia, companies can buy the mineral rights to a property from the owner, who maintains ownership of the land. And sometimes the sale terms were interesting. Like the people who sold the mineral rights to the land my grandma lived on included a provision that meant she got unlimited natural gas in her home.

She took full advantage of the free gas. You might even say she wasted it just a little. Or a lot. Like leaving stove burners lit all the time.

But this verse is about time, and there are two important lessons.

First, I have just as much time as God wants me to have. I don’t need to stress about how long it will take. I have enough time to finish.

But I also don’t have time to waste. As Ephesians 5:16 says, I have to make the most of every opportunity. I can’t throw it away. It’s not like Grandma’s natural gas. I don’t have an endless supply.

[Father, teach me to number my days, making the most of each one without stressing or wasting.]