I’m in the middle of rereading Living Life Backward by David Gibson. As I’ve blown through middle age and am currently staring old age square in the face, the book of Ecclesiastes has become much more relevant to life than it ever has. The short story is that Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, had the opportunity to experience everything life has to offer – money, power, women, adventure, literally anything and everything the world has. At the end of it all, he says “all is vanity”.

We spend so much of our limited time reaching for more. Striving. Seeking. Working to “gain” more and more. We seem to default to more – more money, bigger house, newer car, new clothes, jewelry, and so on. Somehow we can all pay lip service to the idea that more (money) won’t make us happy, but we continue to try and prove that it will. We want “gain”. Truthfully, I have spent much of life chasing gain. And then squandering it when I found it. Only to repeat the chase for more. It’s hard to argue that most people really do want everything, and spend most of their effort pursuing all that Solomon says is vanity and therefor end up “chasing the wind”.

Speaking of chasing the wind, as a parent, I was constantly amazed at how often my children pushed back on what I asked them to do, or how I asked them to dress, or any of a million other requests. They simply didn’t see the big picture, they didn’t know what I knew. Their world was very small, very safe, and yet, they found reasons to push on the boundaries all the time. Likewise, why is it so hard for me to accept life as it comes, knowing that everything is part of a bigger picture that I can’t see, but a picture that is completely visible to a good and loving God. How much wisdom does one need to possess to understand and accept that at best, we have only a very small and limited view of the picture God sees. We are called to be like little children and trust that God has us in His hand, safe and secure. Despite how we feel at any given moment, despite the times that sickness, death, pain, and suffering wash over us, drowning us. When we really grasp this, we can allow ourselves to stop needing to be in control of everything that happens to us. Maybe we can even stop chasing the “gain”.

Shifting gears, how does this next statement feel to you? The life you have today came from God’s hand as something you don’t deserve. Your life is on loan, and the loan comes due. Always. So instead of pushing back, instead of striving for gain, can you embrace life for what it is, instead of what you want it to be? Can you live your life before God with reverence and obedience, and see it as a gift? Perhaps this is how we can live life with peace, embrace joy and laughter, walk through pain and suffering, simply by deeply knowing and acknowledging that God has the big picture. And He is good. Even when we are suffering from the pain of self inflicted consequences. And in those moments when life is good, enjoy it. Laugh, eat, drink, share, walk in community, give generously.

Last thought to consider. These are the best days of your life. They really are. Stop chasing the wind, stop seeking more. Stop thinking the future will be better and easier. Stop thinking that if the situation was different, you would be better or more generous. Let go of the regret of choices made, or not made in the past. Learn from your choices, but don’t let them crush your today. Live the life you have now instead of longing for the life you think you will have, but that in reality you actually have no control over. Choose to live out the truth that rest and peace are more important than wealth and success. Learn to find contentment by subtraction, not addition. How much would it change our daily life if we took hold of understanding that while we may not have as much as we would like, we have more than we deserve.

Grace and peace