Overview:

Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Find today’s readings here.

Each new year I make a collage for my phone background to serve as a reminder of my hopes, goals and points of focus for the year ahead. It usually includes photos of my children and family, hobbies I want to dedicate more time to (like sourdough baking and photography) and a few phrases that capture the intentions I have for the upcoming year. This year, two of those phrases have been, “This is a slow and peaceful road,” and “I’m in no rush, I will take the scenic route.” 

I see these phrases each time I pick up my phone, which, if I am being honest, is probably way too often. (Another phrase I have in my background is “unplug.” I am working on it.) These phrases remind me of the kind of life I want to be living, even when my daily habits don’t always reflect it. 

A lot of life is spent looking ahead: thinking about the next milestone, the next accomplishment, the next season when things might finally feel a bit less hectic. I find myself often rushing through the more ordinary parts of my days—rushing to make dinner, rushing to get the kids to daycare, rushing to move on to something else. I am often focused on what is next, and in that rush I miss the very things I say I value most. 

The Psalm today offers a different way of approaching our lives: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.”

I don’t think that numbering our days simply means being aware of how quickly time passes or feeling pressured to make every moment perfect. Instead, it’s an invitation to recognize that our time is a gift and how we spend it matters. It asks us to consider whether we are living with intention or simply rushing from one thing to the next. 

For me, the phrases on my phone are a reminder that I don’t have to rush through life to make it meaningful. I don’t have to turn every hobby into an accomplishment or fill every moment with something productive. I can walk with my children in the woods and marvel at the bird songs, the tall trees, look for bugs on the ground and delight in the slow (often very, very slow) pace of their small legs. 

As the late Annie Dillard wrote: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.” Perhaps this is what it means to number our days aright: to recognize that our lives are not simply made up of the big moments but also of the ordinary, seemingly insignificant moments. The moments we tend to rush past on our way to something bigger. But those small moments, those ordinary days, are what makes up our lives. 

We cannot control how many days we are given, and we cannot hold onto every season of life. But we can ask God to teach us how to live the days we have with greater wisdom, love and gratitude.

Kat O’Loughlin is grant manager at America Media.