9 What do workers gain from all their hard work? 10 I have observed the task that God has given human beings. 11 God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end.
Reflection
Two days ago I posted on my Facebook page what seemed to me a very positive and uplifting writing by Ginger Rothhaas. Extracting a few words from that seem to fit Pastor Joe’s Message from last Sunday about letting go of busyness and accepting the rest that God gives to us.
Ginger described having just arrived home from leading a four night retreat in Florida called Soulrise and was thinking of the goodness and courage she witnessed. Those afraid to travel alone discovered they can beautifully navigate traveling on their own.
A woman who knew no one in the group, had a warm smile at the airport and made fast friends who said they now feel like they have known her forever. People who weren’t sure what a soul was when they arrived, left feeling a deeper connection with this most loving and beautiful part of themselves. Some historically nervous about swimming in an ocean were proud of themselves for getting in the chilly water with friends during the weekend.
She did something that required courage… kayaking alone out in the ocean, out to the horizon and floating in quiet contemplation. After a few minutes, she noticed she was surrounded by gentle dolphins. Watching them beside her kayak brought the deepest sense of peace.
Her ending words were to offer that we can spend so much time worrying about what might happen that it can block us from living. The best cure for worry is to take action. Do the thing you are scared to do. The key is to go live your life. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
All of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 is well worth reading.
In verses 1-9 Solomon is saying that life can become miserably predictable. The same old you, wearing the same old clothes, driving the same old car, working the same old job, eating the same old food, returning to the same old house, watching the same old shows, and climbing into the same old bed—day in and day out—can get old. That frustration with routine reflects Solomon’s mood here. He’s not merely saying that there’s time for everything, including life’s joys and sorrows. He’s saying, “We’re trapped.” Like hamsters running on a wheel, our legs do a lot of running, but they finish right where we started.
In verse 10 Solomon is saying that God has created time in such a way that it cannot bring fulfillment. Rather, it reveals a vacuum in our hearts that can only be filled by the transcendent—through the Lord.
Humanity is in tension: we live in the routine of time, but our hearts are designed to long for something eternal. Verses 12-13 tell us that appropriate pleasures are a gift of God; to be enjoyed. But, don’t expect to find ultimate meaning in these things. God has placed dissatisfaction in our lives so that we can yearn for Love, Presence and Word which can bring peace.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
So what can you say that you have done that was unique or required courage? Last night Laura was at a meeting where people were asking attendees to offer a story, and she said spending a week in Ireland driving on the left side of the road and often only one car width wide.
What do you do intentionally to watch for the presence of the Holy Spirit?
If not yet, be courageous and expect that as you come closer to our Lord and Savior you will find a presence.
Prayer: Holy Lord God, help us to recognize that you seek us out when we are pursuing you.
Help us to break out of old patterns and see your presence as the days become
longer and the vibrance of nature begins again. Amen.
