"Teach Us To Number Our Days" or "Bump In The Road Update, November 30, 2018"

Mountain Sunset, Yauyos District, Lima State, Peru, October 14, 2018, Tom Lowry Photo

The photo above was taken around Tres Cruces on October 14, as several friends and I headed back from Ayaviri to Omas. We were somewhere around 12,000 feet up. It is ruggedly beautiful. The people are wonderful, too.

The sunset relates, though, to Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." This is a line from a Psalm of Moses, and if you know Moses' story, you know he had seen many challenges, difficulties, and victories in life. While yours and mine might not be on the scale or notability of those of Moses, life is filled with all kinds of things, good or bad, easy or hard, happy or sad. Moses is saying that we need to be wise and realistic about life.

The Preacher Ecclesiastes well makes the point that no matter what we accomplish in life, we are all going to die, and, at least after a generation or two, no one will remember us. Sorry. It isn't the most encouraging book, but it is realistic. None of us lasts forever.

In a few days I will have my second ever PET scan. That funny little number (IgL) that rose up when I wrote about this in 2015 and 2016 is trying to get out of control again, and so the doctors and I are looking ahead to the next step—probably a change in medication in hopes of continuing to punch this Multiple Myeloma in the nose. I will keep you posted about that. Results will likely take awhile, as tests usually beget more tests, and all of them together help determine a course of action.

Anytime a little glitch comes in our health, it should remind us of the temporary nature of our lives. That should give us a realistic perspective, and move us in the direction in making a difference. If you are a follower of Christ, that is especially true. How are you impacting this earth for the glory of God?

As you pray for me, pray:

• First that God will be glorified in all of this.
• Second, that the right medication(s) can be found to treat this stuff, and,
• Third, the side effects will be minimal. 

Moses says in Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."  May we lean on Him for our satisfaction and hope.