“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” (Psalm 103:15-16)

A thunderstorm passed earlier this evening and is gone. The humidity is gone, the clouds, the day. I’m standing by the old foundations on the back side of my neighbor’s farm. A remnant of a stone wall, a few slabs of rock are gone from sight in briars and wild raspberry bushes. A century back, a family, a farm existed here. They are long gone. The present farm and the one I spent countless days on sits further east of this old place. The farmer is gone. He passed a few years back. Our visits are gone. The dairy cows, the horses, the hogs, the rabbits, the goats, the mules, the beef cows, the chickens are all gone. The fences are gone. That time is gone. The last generation lives there now, and then…

A good breeze is moving the tall grass around me in shimmering waves, like a grassy ocean. The unseen wind has its effect and then is gone as it travels southeast to be followed by more wind. Today’s sun is almost gone behind the western horizon. I stand here and remember so many things that took place on this land. The most important to me happened over there on that hill, that one right there - I made The Decision that this life is all about - I chose to follow Jesus Christ. That euphoric moment is gone and now is the time of “working out my salvation” for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12,13) That is what I need to be about. That is what we need to be about.

I got to thinking as I took a final look around before heading home - we have such a brief time to glorify God with our lives and make a difference in this world for Him and for others - before we’re gone.