Counting of Days: A Temporal Intelligence

I received a cute message from a friend that made me smile and giggle, and I wanted to share it with as many people as I could. As I scrolled through my list, choosing names, I paused—some of those I once shared moments with are no longer here. The laughter stayed, but it carried a quiet pain. It reminded me how easily joy and absence sit beside each other in ordinary moments.

This season of celebration invites us in a gentle reckoning with time. Not in sadness and not in fear—but in gratitude: for those who have gone before us, for those who still walk with us, and for the simple gift of being able to remember, smile, and miss, all at once.

When Moses speaks of teaching us to number our days, it is not an invitation to fear or sorrow, but to a kind of temporal intelligence: to use our time well, to nurture relationships that bear fruit, and to live with gratitude and presence. As the year ends and another begins, may we all learn to live a little more intentionally, love a little more deeply, and be thankful for life as it is.