Spectacular white blooms fill the flowering crabapple in our backyard. Caught in the wind, the petals look like snow. In another week, however, the last flowers will fall as spring emerges. The brevity of the beauty helps me pay particular attention to the display out my backdoor.

Like the flowers on my tree, the Bible reminds us of the passing nature of our lives:

Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

A handbreadth measured the length across four fingers, roughly four inches. Our lives consist of the distance of a stumble, a mere sigh, a dot on the line of eternity.

Let the brevity move us to attentiveness. Enjoy the beauty. Engage with the people God puts around us. Turn off the screens (I’m preaching to myself) and experience the world.

I learned this little ditty years ago: Life is short, death is sure, sin’s the cause, but Christ’s the cure. Fleeting days lead to death—then life really begins. A connection with Jesus is the one vital detail not to miss during your handbreadth.

Psalm 39 in Through the Bible in 2023

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo