August 25, 2026

Get In The Picture

Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

The birthday party was full of the usual noise, kids weaving between tables, someone adjusting the volume on a speaker, plates of cake getting passed around faster than anyone could track. Every few minutes someone pulled out a phone to capture the moment, gathering people together, waving others in from the edges of the room. Most people leaned in without complaint, arms around shoulders, smiling on command. One person kept stepping just outside the frame every time, waving off the camera with a laugh, insisting they looked terrible in photos, that someone else should be the one standing there instead.

Nobody thought much of it in the moment. There would be other parties, other cameras, other chances to get everyone in the frame together. That assumption feels safe right up until it isn’t.

The psalmist prayed that God would teach him to number his days, so that his heart could gain wisdom from the counting. That prayer only makes sense if the days are actually limited, if the gatherings a person keeps stepping out of are not guaranteed to repeat indefinitely. Nobody knows in advance which birthday party, which holiday table, which ordinary Sunday afternoon will turn out to be the last time everyone was together in one room. The picture nobody thought to take becomes the one people wish they had, once the person who kept dodging the camera is no longer there to step back into frame.

There will not always be another chance to gather everyone in one place. Step into the picture while the people you love are still standing there beside you.

Today’s Prayer: Lord, teach me to number my days and treasure the people You’ve placed in my life. Help me not take for granted the moments I have with those I love. Amen.

Reflection Question: Is there someone in your life you’ve been putting off spending real time with, assuming there will always be another chance?