Daily Devotional for January 10, 2022

Barbara sent the following story.  Truer words were never spoken.
 
“An Airbus 380 is on its way across the Atlantic.  It flies consistently at 800 km/h at 30,000 feet when suddenly a Eurofighter with Tempo Mach 2 appears.

The pilot of the fighter jet slows down, flies alongside the Airbus, and greets the pilot of the passenger plane by radio: “Airbus, boring flight isn’t it? Now have a look here!”

He rolls his jet on its back, accelerates, breaks through the sound barrier, rises rapidly to a dizzying height, and then swoops down almost to sea level in a breathtaking dive. 

He loops back next to the Airbus and asks, “Well, how was that?”

The Airbus pilot answers: “Very impressive, but now you look!”

The jet pilot watches the Airbus, but nothing happens.  It continues to fly stubbornly straight, with the same speed. After 15 minutes, the Airbus pilot radios, “Well, how was that?

Confused, the jet pilot asks, “What did you do?”

The Airbus pilot laughs and says,”I got up, stretched my legs, walked to the back of the aircraft to use the washroom, then got a cup of coffee and a chocolate fudge pastry.

The moral of the story is: When you are young, speed and adrenaline seem to be great. But as you get older and wiser, you learn that comfort and peace are more important.

This is called S.O.S.: Slower, Older, but Smarter.”
 
Even though my body is changing, the hair at my temples has turned gray, and I don’t have the energy I had when I was in my twenties, I truly enjoy getting older.  That’s because I have learned from my mistakes, and I have made more mistakes than most people could ever imagine.
 
The good news is that wisdom does come from learning from past experiences, including mistakes.  That means, for those who pay attention, the older we get, the wiser we get.  
 
This is what the psalmist meant by saying, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) 
 
Don’t dread getting older.  Enjoy the ride and learn something new every day.  And remember, every day we live is one day closer to going to heaven.  It’s a good deal.
 
Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, help me make the most of my time in this world.  Give me wisdom, patience, compassion, and the resolve to make a difference for those who are hurting, alone, or afraid.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.
 
Today is a new day.  I’m curious to see what mistake I will learn from.  I bet it’s a doozy.
 
I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins