There are some conversations you never forget. They don’t happen during grand celebrations or while gathered around a holiday table. They happen in the quiet moments of everyday life. That is where Grandma Cooper shared many of her greatest lessons.
One afternoon, while we sat together on the porch watching the sun drift toward the trees, Grandma folded her hands in her lap and smiled.
“You know, Bobby,” she began, “the Lord gives every one of us the very same gift each week.”
I remember looking around, wondering what gift she was talking about.
“We each receive 168 hours,” she continued. “Not one minute more. Not one minute less.”
At the time, I was too young to understand what she meant. One hundred sixty-eight hours sounded endless. Childhood has a way of making tomorrow seem as if it will always be waiting.
Grandma quietly asked a question that has stayed with me throughout my life.
“Can you remember what you were doing this time last week?”
I thought about it for a moment.
“No.”
She nodded.
“That’s because those hours are already spent. You’ll never get them back.”
She wasn’t trying to make me feel guilty. She simply wanted me to understand that time is one of God’s greatest gifts. Once it is used, it belongs to yesterday.
Grandma believed there was nothing wrong with enjoying life. She laughed often, loved family gatherings, enjoyed working in her flowers, and could spend an afternoon telling stories that somehow became life lessons without anyone noticing.
But she also believed every day deserved a purpose.
“If the Lord wakes you up this morning,” she would say, “there’s probably someone He wants you to encourage.”
That simple thought changed how I looked at ordinary days.
Remember Your Creator Early
As I grew older, Grandma often shared verses from Ecclesiastes. One in particular became a favorite.
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…” — Ecclesiastes 12:1
She explained that it wasn’t written because older people couldn’t come to know God. It was written because life has a way of filling every empty space if we let it.
“The world will always offer you something to chase,” she’d say. “The Lord offers you Someone to follow.”
She encouraged me to pray before making important decisions—not because every answer would come immediately, but because inviting God into our lives changes how we see those decisions.
Looking back, I realize she wasn’t trying to shape my future career. She was trying to shape my heart.
One of My Greatest Childhood Memories
There is one memory that stands above nearly all the others.
As a young boy, I loved attending Sunday School and church. For reasons I still can’t fully explain, I could remember Bible stories with remarkable detail. I enjoyed telling them, and people seemed to enjoy listening.
After hearing me one Sunday, my mother smiled and said something I never forgot.
“Bobby, I think one day you’ll be a preacher.”
At the time, I simply laughed.
Life carried me in many directions over the years. Military service, raising a family, careers, responsibilities, and countless unexpected turns filled the decades. Although I believed in God, there were seasons when I wasn’t fully following Him as I should have been.
Yet God never stopped calling.
Many years later, after much prayer and searching, I surrendered my life completely to the Lord and eventually became an ordained minister.
When I look back now, I often think about my mother’s words.
She saw something long before I did.
Every Choice Matters
None of us lives perfectly.
I certainly haven’t.
I’ve made mistakes, taken wrong turns, and learned many lessons the hard way. But I’ve also discovered that every choice matters. The small decisions we make today quietly become the story we’ll tell tomorrow.
Grandma used to remind us that regret often grows from opportunities we ignored rather than mistakes we made.
“Ask the Lord where He wants you,” she’d say. “He already knows the road ahead.”
Those words became more meaningful with every passing year.
Begin Today
One quote Grandma shared with me has remained close to my heart. It came from Mother Teresa:
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
That wisdom fits perfectly alongside Grandma’s own outlook on life.
Yesterday cannot be relived.
Tomorrow isn’t promised.
Today is the gift resting in our hands.
Whether you’re young and just beginning life’s journey or looking back over many decades, there is still time to choose wisely. Spend time with your family. Encourage someone who needs hope. Pray before making decisions. Laugh often. Forgive quickly. Serve faithfully.
Those 168 hours will pass whether we pay attention to them or not.
The question isn’t whether time moves forward.
The question is what we’ll do with the time God has entrusted to us.
Grandma Cooper believed a life well lived isn’t measured by wealth, popularity, or accomplishments.
It’s measured by faithfulness.
And after all these years, I believe she was right.
Final Thoughts
If Grandma Cooper were sitting beside us today, I imagine she’d smile and say,
“Don’t worry so much about tomorrow that you forget to live faithfully today. The Lord gave you this day for a reason. Make it count.”
Those simple words have guided me for many years.
I pray they’ll encourage you, too.
Happy travels,
The Cooper Shortcut Camping Journey Trio 😊 PlusOne!
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