THE BEST OF DAYS

December 11, 2025

Jason Bonnicksen

THE BEST OF DAYS

365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 11

The Best of days: are they behind you or ahead?

Today, I had the privilege of covering over 72 miles of countryside to visit our shut-ins. This is often my Thursday routine, a portion of my schedule I lament if I have to miss.

Upon arriving at site no.1, I found one of our members sleeping so soundly I dared not wake him. But his neighbor who resides down the hall, he had a bath and was raring to go. It’d been more than two weeks since we’d caught up; we were due for a good laugh and memory-filled talk.

Leroy and I chatted about all the happenings and hubbub around town; but then our conversation solemnly shifted. He asked about a few of his friends, some of whose best of days, he quipped, might lie in the past. I’d asked Leroy if he’d heard about Harry. He had, and was glad the good Lord had taken him home.

Leroy didn’t have to say it (again). He longs for that day, believing his best days aren’t behind him but ahead. I wish that sentiment was shared by everyone.

Two visits and few hours later, my mind drifted as I journeyed home. I pondered what the prairie looked like in days long ago. I silently mused: was landscape’s best of days behind it, or are they still ahead? Nested around the ancient grasslands one can see fields and fences, and farm sites both old and new. Some have seen much better days — in some ways forgotten. But for some, I surmise, the best days are still to come.

Time is so fleeting, isn’t it? About the days we’ve been given, Solomon said:

“God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11–13, ESV

I don’t know at what age it happens, but at some point, we realize there are more days behind than ahead. At 56, I still feel young, but I’ve seen too many friends already pass on. And about my parents’ generation, so many are gone. I hope to make it to their age; and God willing, to be as optimistic then as I am now, believing our best days are yet to come.

Leroy might long to pass from life to the next, but I don’t think it’s because his body isn’t as strong. If I could guess, I think Leroy knows that in heaven, his best days are ahead.

I think the answer to this blog's title is a matter of perspective. Personally, I thank God for the great days I’ve had, and the days still to come. I believe every day is a gift from the Lord; and for that, I thank Him every day that awake. But even on the day when I fall asleep on this earthly plane, I know I’ll awake to an endless day where the sun always shines, and every day will be the best day that’s ever been.

What do you say: are your best days behind or ahead? Drop a comment below.

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