Guest Author - Cathy Brownfield
It seems that spring barely happens any more, at least here in Northeast Ohio where we leap from winter coats to shorts and tank tops. Is it the greenhouse effect or weather patterns that have existed since the last ice age? Does anyone really know? Does it really matter? Are we just as well off if we live each day the best we know how?
If you’ve never read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, would you accept the recommendation? What is the meaning of life? More to the point, what is the meaning of a life not centered on God? You don’t have to be a religious person to consider the question.
Ecclesiastes is a book of only 12 chapters and is filled with wisdom that can comfort and guide.
David, King of Jerusalem, discovered the terms of meaninglessness. With all of his wisdom, he determined that everything is meaningless without a focal point: God. And with all of his wisdom he wrote:
“Then I turned my thoughts
To consider wisdom
And also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
Than what has already been done?
I saw that wisdom is better than folly
Just as light is better than darkness.
The wise man has eyes in his head
While the fool walks in darkness;
But I came to realize
That the same fate overtakes them both.”
--Ecclesiastes 2:12-14
So maybe the best thing for everyone is to live in the today. Instead of jumping into things way over our heads, maybe we would be wiser and more content to be satisfied with what we have and wait for what we can’t afford; to truly appreciate the gifts in our lives instead of digging in so deep to the materialistic world that we can’t keep our heads above water.
In the springtime we till up our gardens and fields, sow the seeds for the growing season, fertilize the tender plants for better produce all through the summer when we are preparing for the harvest.
In the springtime of our lives we choose a mate, sow the seeds for the life we want, birth the babies and build their character with our guidance, love and acceptance. When our children reach maturity, we turn over the keys of the world to them gradually over the transition period, one generation after another.
Spring, then summer…Is it all like chasing the wind? Is there a reason, a purpose, for each of us? Is your life centered on a Supreme Power? What is your reason for getting out of bed with each new sunrise? Where do you find your peace and contentment?
