I admit to not taking my days seriously. What did I accomplish yesterday that was meaningful?
My efforts felt like wind flowing through my fingertips. All morning, I tried to find important papers, but they were nowhere to be found. I constantly try to juggle needs at work and home without success. On top of that, the tomatoes in my garden were growing out of my ears.
I opened my Bible to Ecclesiastes and found myself in this odd book attributed to King Solomon. It reads like the work of a grumpy old man bemoaning his life. “Meaningless, meaningless. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless . . . a chasing after the wind.” Some translations use the word vanity instead of meaningless. Vanity insinuates that the chasing was for Solomon’s own gain, but he found it pointless.
Day in and day out, the mundane occurrences in my life sometimes do seem meaningless. Yet God knows how many hairs are on my head. He saw me in the womb before I was born. He bottles my tears. Perhaps everything is meaningful. What if all of life does have purpose and meaning, even the most mundane?
Maybe it is the chasing that is meaningless. The world will not end if I don’t find the papers, keep the house, or use all the tomatoes.
Stop and take a deep breath. Breathe in the Spirit of our Creator, who created us for meaning. Stop chasing and just be present. This is difficult because the craziness of life doesn’t end. Enjoy the beauty of the sunrise. Revel in the laugh of a child. Embrace the ones you love. Meaning is in every moment, but we don’t have to attach meaning to insignificant things.
Look for the meaningfulness in every moment.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and alfcermed.)
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Susan Montgomery is a writer.