Count Your Days

How many marbles do you have left?

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

We were standing in the church hallway when one of our pastors called a few of us aside. On the shelves were clear jars, filled with marbles, one for the elementary years, one for middle school, and one for high school.

He explained that each marble represented a week that we had left with our children before they graduated.

I stood there staring at the jars… my son is already in high school. Looking at that jar…the smallest one of the three…and something in me caught in my throat. There weren’t many marbles left. I didn’t say anything right then, but it stirred something deep inside me.

I couldn’t shake that image.

A while later, after a Friday football game, I found myself back in that same headspace. Our family has this little post-game tradition: we stand at the fence and wait for Noah to come by before he heads into the locker room. That night, the lights were bright, the air thick with that mix of sweat, dirt, and concession stand popcorn. I watched him walk over, helmet tucked under his arm, smiling, talking with his dad. His grandparents stood nearby, same spot every week, waiting to hug him.

I stood there, taking it all in…and suddenly I felt it again. That ache.
One day, this will all be over.
Not in a sad way, but in a way that made me want to soak up every second.

The sound of the band packing up, the way his dad grinned, our giant posse gathered near the fence, grandparents who never miss a game. The light on the field fading, laughter lingering in the air… it all felt holy.

And in that moment, the jars of marbles came back to mind.

Time doesn’t slow down.
It doesn’t wait until the schedule eases up or until we finally feel ready to savor it.
It just keeps moving.

That’s when Psalm 90:12 started echoing in my heart:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

It’s not a verse meant to make us fearful or frantic. It’s an invitation.
To live awake. To see time not as something slipping away, but as something sacred, something we get to pour into with eternal weight.

Living Awake

When Moses prayed that prayer, the word “number” wasn’t just about counting days; it was about appointing them, setting them apart.

He was asking God, “Help me not waste what I’ve been given. Show me what really matters.”

I think that’s the cry of every mom’s heart, even if we don’t say it out loud.
We want to be faithful with the time we have, but we’re tired, distracted, and pulled in a hundred directions.

It’s easy to pour ourselves out for what’s urgent and have nothing left for what’s eternal.

We’ll sign every permission slip, remember every snack rotation, show up for every practice, and then realize somewhere along the way that the days are blending together. That we’re giving our best energy to the hustle instead of the heart.

That’s why this post exists.
Not to add another thing to our to-do list, but to remind us that every moment we have is already sacred ground.

We don’t have to carve out hours for perfect family devotions.
We just have to invite God into what you’re already doing.

The car ride. The late-night talk. The walk across the field after a game.
These are our marbles.
This is our ministry.

A Simple Exercise

Try this with me:
Take your child’s age, subtract it from eighteen, and multiply by fifty-two.
That’s roughly how many weekends you have left before they graduate.

Don’t let that number bring fear or regret. Let it bring wisdom.
Let it open your eyes to what matters most.

Ask God to teach you how to fill those weekends differently, not with more doing, but with deeper being.

A Prayer for Wisdom

Lord, teach me to number my days, not to count them in fear but to fill them with purpose.
Show me how to slow down enough to see the holy in the ordinary.
Help me notice what You’re doing in my family.
Let the truth You plant in me spill over into my children’s lives.
Make every moment a chance to point them back to You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Field Notes for Moms

Reflect:
Where do you see your “marbles” going right now?
Are you pouring your energy into things that will matter in ten years, or things that will fade by next season?

Talk About It:
Ask your kids, “What’s your favorite part of our weekends together?”
Then ask, “What’s one thing God showed you this week?”

The Reset Room | | Freebie

If this message stirred something in you… if you’ve felt the ache of time passing faster than you can hold it, I want to invite you to take the next step with me.

I’ve created a free 5-day devotional called Count Your Days: You can’t slow time, but you can fill it differently. Each day helps you slow down, refocus, and fill your time differently…with presence, not pressure.

Here’s what’s inside:

Day 1: Count Your Days: Seeing Time as Sacred
Day 2: Pouring Out Where It Matters Most
Day 3: Spillover Faith & Holy Conversations
Day 4: Setting the Atmosphere & Modeling Grace
Day 5: Building Memorials, Not Monuments & The Last Weekend

Each devotional includes a short reflection, Scripture, and a simple Reset Step to help you live awake to what matters most.

Subscribe to receive the 5-Day Devotional:

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