Time has a way of slipping through our fingers. We enjoy experiences, thinking they’ll always be there, and then one day we look back and realize those moments have quietly become memories. That realization is sobering, but it also reminds us of something powerful: each moment we live today is already shaping the story we’ll one day treasure.
The key isn’t only in looking back with gratitude, it’s in living now with awareness. When we sit with friends and laugh, when we take a walk on a summer evening, when we hear the sound of a loved one’s voice, these are not ordinary moments. They are sacred in their simplicity. And if we learn to treat them as such, they won’t just fade into the past, they’ll be etched into our hearts as if they were always meant to last a lifetime.
Think of it this way: What if every meal with your family was the last one in that exact way? What if every conversation with a friend was the last time you’d hear their laugh in quite the same tone? What if today’s sunrise was the last one you’d ever watch from this place, at this time, in this season of your life?
That thought isn’t meant to be heavy, it’s meant to wake us up to the gift of presence. Jesus Himself modeled this. He broke bread with His disciples not just to feed them, but to leave them with a memory that would outlast His time on earth. Every word, every touch, every act was intentional. He cherished the moment as if it had eternal weight, because it did.
Psalm 39:4 puts it like this: “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” That verse isn’t about fear, it’s about focus. When we realize how fleeting life is, we learn to slow down, to watch more closely, to listen more intently, and to love more deeply.
So here’s the challenge: the next time you’re in a moment that makes you smile, pause. Breathe. Take a mental picture. Soak in the details: the sights, the sounds, the people around you. Don’t just let it happen, let it imprint itself on your soul as if it will never happen again.
Because one day, it won’t. And when that day comes, you’ll be grateful you truly lived it the first time.
Troy P Zehnder 