First published May 6, 2024 as the last in the Enjoy Life: from meaningless to meaningful series.
I’m going to be completely honest with you, my friend. Today’s post was to be what the British call “a bit of a fob off.” You see, I had always planned to write the last look at Ecclesiastes after I returned from a 10-day trip to see my daughter and grandkids. With a five-month-old infant and a sports-obsessed two-year-old, writing simply wasn’t possible during my visit. Let’s just say this 59-year-old grandma (Guga as I’m affectionately called) passes out from exhaustion about 8:30pm each night after a day of bottles, diapers, up and down the stairs, laundry, baseball, football, golf, hockey, and little bits of quiet snuggling in between. I love every single bit of it.
So here I was back home ready to jump in to the wise words of King Solomon. And I started feeling ill. After just a few days home I became so delirious and short of breath that I caused myself a full-blown panic attack one night thinking I was dying. My husband managed to get me to the doctor where I tested positive for Influenza. I can’t remember the last time I had the actual flu. A flu that then turned into pneumonia — which is why I didn’t seem to be getting better. My hopes of feeling up to writing even a few lines were put way, way back on the burner.
But through the blessings of the Lord, I was put on new medications just yesterday. I now have a veritable neighborhood pharmacy on my counter. And although walking from one room to the next still seems a bit like I’ve tried tackling the 213.7 mile John Muir Trail with my friend Betsy, I can feel my body recovering. So instead of “fobbing off” and writing a placeholder, here I am through God’s providence, jumping into wisdom and life and the wonderful meaning of it all.
“However, many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many.” Ecclesiastes 11:8
You see, even in my darkest moments when I was really sick I was remembering some important things about this life. That I don’t know how it all works but God does. Ecclesiastes 1 reminded us that although we are made in God’s image, He still is the ultimate creator and has more power and knowledge than we can ever hope to amass.
“Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.” Ecclesiastes 1:10
I also allowed myself to ask why God doesn’t fix things immediately at my whim or even pleading? Which, of course, reminded me of the famous Ecclesiastes 3 scripture:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal,”Ecclesiastes 3: 1; 2-3
After my 4am panic attack and my husband had calmed my breathing, I laid back in bed thinking, “Is this what it will be like in the end? At my final moments? Worried and panicked? Clawing to hold on to one more day of this life?”
When we looked at Ecclesiastes 9, we ran head first into the only truth no one can deny, no matter how hard they try. “The same destiny overtakes us all.” (vs 3). And yet we cling so hard and forget about the other truth the people of this world want to deny – we have hope for those who believe. We have an eternal place where God has a plan for justice. Where He has brought every single one of our loved ones, who also believe, to live with us forever and ever. Nothing left behind but sin and strife and pain and death.
My friends, if we accept that death is our future and as Solomon told us in verse 9:12, “No one knows when their hour will come,” we must take all that he says in wisdom in his last chapters 11 and 12 to heart.
“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” Ecclesiastes 11:5-6
The New Testament repeats the same message: know God, love God, trust God, and obey Him. We are not God. We barely understand the present moment, and often struggle to remember yesterday, let alone see tomorrow.
There’s a trend on Instagram where very talented photographers stop average looking strangers on the street and ask to take their picture. The people (usually women) tell the photographer all the reasons why they are not worthy of having a photo taken of them. One adult woman with fairly new braces said she would start smiling once her braces came off. In what — two or three years? And yet her brace-filled pictures were gorgeous!
Are you waiting to smile until something better happens in your life? Until the right person comes along? The right job? The right bank account? That “happiness” seeking roller coaster that Solomon warned us about in Ecclesiastes 6. It’s a joy killer. It may look like seeking meaning but it all becomes so meaningless.
“Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body,” Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
Solomon tells us, “go!” Try that new hobby or skill. Actively seek out new friendships and opportunities. Tell your friend or family member how much God loves them – today. Stop waiting until you get to the point where there’s no longer time, but also remembering all along who you belong to – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not hedonism as we looked at chapter 10 and the Right Side of Life. That’s meaningless folly. True joy, true enjoyment comes from knowing and listening to the Lord and stepping onto the narrow path.
I read a quote recently that went something like this:
“Trusting God is like being married to adventure but if you are looking for an excuse, you will find one.”
In other words, if you truly trust in the Lord for His love and provision. If you truly believe you are a beloved and beautiful daughter or son of God then He wants you to enjoy this short life He’s given you on this little blue planet.
This ancient book of wisdom on the surface seems like the last place to go to for this inspiration. I mean reminding us from beginning to end we will all die…a real party conversation killer. But sprinkled throughout this truth are the six reminders to “Enjoy Life.” Enjoy life while fearing the Lord and keeping His commands (Ecc 12:13). King Solomon did a bit too much of the first and forgot the second until towards the end of his life. He’s pleading with you hear his God-given words now.
I read this article by editor and founder Joanna Gaines in my most recent copy of Magnolia magazine. I realized it was a great way to end this series studying Ecclesiastes and the meaning of life. Especially for those of you who struggle with life’s changes, the good and the frequently not so good. We may want to retreat, go back to the old. We pray for God to remove the struggle and the pain. And it might get us stuck. Stuck in bad habits, unhealthy relationships, or the lie that nothing will ever change. Stuck believing God has no better plan ahead. Stuck in the lie that your personal cycle of life will just keep plugging away, never changing and never ending. Which keeps us far from the concept of joy and enjoyment. Listen to this excerpt from Mrs. Gaines’ essay titled, “Space to See Possibility” (spring 2024).
“When life swung, for the first time I didn’t hold my breath. I stood tall. I looked around. I worried less what was changing now and instead looked forward to what it could give way to the next. I asked myself, “What beautiful thing can come from this? What did I learn that can carry me forward?” And I came to realize that it’s the aftermath that’s the most formative. It was how we landed, how we let what was different be its own kind of beautiful. It was how we reset, changed course, and believed in the goodness to come.”
As my head has started to clear from my illnesses – my dizziness is dissipating and my vision is clearing – I look back over how often I sought the Lord. How often I thanked Him for seemingly endless boxes of Kleenex, soft sheets, a comfortable bed, doctors, pharmacists, drug inventors and scientists, friends, clean water, my husband and daughters, and more. I pleaded but I didn’t know if I would be healed or when. I felt terrible yet, still I knew my life is good. A life to enjoy even in the least enjoyable moments. Because that’s what our faith gives us. Head scratching, oppositeness from the world. A life of meaning.
My friend, I hold out my hand to you asking you to join me on this great adventure called Jehovah, God, Jesus, Elohim, Holy Spirit. Ask Him today, “What’s next?” and go enjoy.
