25567 days

25,567 Days

Odd sort of number isn’t it, but as far as I am able to calculate, today, on my 70^th birthday, I have been alive for 25,567 days.  So, what have I done in those 70 years and what will I do with whatever remains for me? The Bible mentions the span of mans years being 3 score years and 10 – that’s 70. Many people take that as their measure and almost curse themselves with it by saying that after 70, they are living on “borrowed time”. I refuse to limit God like that because the Bible also says that a man’s days are numbered – and I believe I have some way to go before He calls my number in.

For some reason, that always reminds me of the story of the boating lake when the manager calls out your number when the time is up. “Come in, number 91” he shouts, “Your time is up.” “But we don’t have a number 91 says his assistant. “Oh”, says the manager. “Number 16 – are you in trouble?”

Sorry about that.

Most would say that the most precious achievement has been the procreation and successful cultivation to maturity of two sons. Actually, I have to question that, good though it is. You see, it depends on which way you want to look at these things. We can view them from a limited time perspective, otherwise known as the earthly perspective. Or we can view them from an eternal perspective otherwise known as God’s perspective.

From the earthly perspective, my sons are a great achievement – even though I was absent for long periods of being “on the road”. That was part of a successful 36 year marriage to their Mum. From the earthly perspective, that was a successful life, even though 42 years of IT work was punctuated by 9 redundancies and periods of the infamous UB40 signing on for benefits.

However, from an eternal perspective things may look a little different.

Who knows what was the effect my short time as a Sunday School teacher? How about the year or so as a St Andrews Church in Woking – meeting and greeting folk as they arrived? What about my time spent with my friend Ted on our journey to the baptism in the Holy Spirit – what effect did that have on those around us? Then there was the moment of leading my late wife to the Lord before she died. Some time after that, I was introduced to the RoFMI ministry. We saw multiple healings and not a few miracles there. After that came our wonderful Twitter moment when I met this TwangyTexan, also called Linda. Married in Texas, moved to Woking, joined Calvary Church. What about the effects of our witness there. Finally we moved to Sleaford, and here comes Sanctuary, Betel, Junction, Second Chance and Roy Todd calling us “Mum & Dad”. What, I wonder was the heavenly perspective on all of that? And who knows what is left for us together?

Another 15 years beyond the 70 mark will hoist the number of days total by a further 5,479 to 31,046 – again by my reckoning. Who knows what we have left? We don’t know, but God does, and as we trust Him completely, we can safely leave it all in His mighty hands.

Thank you Lord for bringing me thus far, and lead on for however long it’s going to be.

While I’m here, I really must pay tribute to one person. This quite remarkable lady twanged her way into my life about three years ago. It must have been a God thing because we fell in love, I proposed, and she accepted, all before we ever met face to face. Then she did a truly remarkable thing – she left everything she knew and loved in her home country to came over here to a strange place with strange people and even stranger customs and language. She gave up everything for me – friends, family, home, good job, security, everything to marry and live with me here in England. God has blessed her and us both in that we’ve landed in a lovely town, in a brilliant and loving church and we have made some wonderful friends. In the absence of her own kids and grandkids, she has become “Momma” to quite a few of the younger people around here. But, to me, her crowning accolade – although some may call it madness – is that she loves me - and I love her.

My precious wife, Linda.