Finish line

"As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work."    - Jesus, in John 9:4

As the middle of January is upon us, I can see the finish line approaching. Every year in January, as an actuary, I am part of a small team that has to estimate the reserves needed for claims that have not been reported - it's an important item on the financial statements and the timeline is tight. (More about that here.)

Well, there is a big meeting tomorrow and another one Friday and after that things should be back to normal. Still working hard, but on a more normal schedule.

Have you ever had something that you just wanted to get past? A trip to the doctor, a test, or yes, a big deadline at work can be like that. Or maybe an unpleasant conversation. You just want it to be over with.

Well, even though I do enjoy this work, I don't necessarily enjoy the long hours necessitated by the short deadlines. so this morning I found myself thinking, " I can't wait 'til Friday!"

But then I thought, life is short. God has put us on earth with a very limited time frame to love people, shine a light in this dark world, and bring glory to him. Amazing things for the kingdom of God could happen in the next three days. If I'm rushing through just trying to get them over with, what will I miss? And at the end of my life, will I wish I had those days back?

So, as tempting as it is to just get it over with, I'm going to try to relish these next few days. Because, relatively speaking, there aren't that many left.

Food for thought: What is it that you try to just get past? Have you ever regretted speeding past it?