I spent my life waiting for it to begin.
Thinking I wasn't really living until I went traveling,
or made great things, or had a life "worth" telling about.
The longer I waited, the more discontent I became;
I compared my life, my activities, and art to those of other
and in the process destroyed myself
and my happiness.
It took the removal of happiness and the barren wasteland of what appeared to be my life,
before I cried out and clung to the last thing that stood tall: Jesus Christ
He taught me that being truly alive does not come through have a fascinating,
complicated life worth telling about, it comes through the little things.
It comes through:
serving others
tea
music
sunshine
making art
encouraging others
writing
waking up early
reading His word
learning
being human
smiling
playing piano
working hard
family
plants
Sundays
the earth
reading books
making plans/goals
salvation from Him
the earth
silence
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says:
"Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting;
to eat, to drink, and to enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which
he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which
God has given him; for this is his reward."
[5:18]
I used to be slightly confused by this statement.
I understood Solomon's claim that "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is:
fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to ever person",
but when he says to basically "eat, drink and be merry" it seemed a little shallow.
But as he goes over everything he's basically pointing out:
"hey, stop worrying about money, stop worrying about your life
(who knows what will happen with your stuff/life after you die), and just
ENJOY IT.
And now, I understand that; I see his point.
It was through real life experience and the process of the Holy Spirit
working in my life that I learned that same truth.
How amazing it is that God's word is alive and active and how, as we live our lives,
we see it's truths come to light in ways we never thought we would.
So I beg you, dwell on these verses
[ecc. 5:18 + 12:13]
and realize that you do not need to rise to any standard society sets.
Your life is yours and God's, and that is it.
<3 Eva
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| I hope there are days when you fall in love with being alive -unknown | via |
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ReplyDeleteI loved this, Ashby! There is no time like the present to start living. <3
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteThis was amazing!! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shelby! <3
DeleteThis really resonated with me. I feel as though, before, I had always just been waiting for someone to hit 'play' on my life, you know? And eventually, it took something big to make me realise that if you wait for your life to begin, you'll be waiting forever. Thank you for posting this <3
ReplyDeleteSo, so true! You're welcome. Thank YOU for commenting, Sunset!
DeleteI love this, so so much. It really speaks to what I've been learning, too. You always hear 'the little things? they aren't little.' and things like that, but you have to come to a point where you really believe it before it can mean anything to you. And it's really something God gives, I think. Ecclesiastes is honestly so pertinent, and I think if we used it more it would help to connect and clarify a lot of other scripture. <3 Lovely post- you're one of those blogs that doesn't post all the time, but what you do post is so worthwhile. And exciting every time I see that you've posted :)
ReplyDeleteYes. Amen, God *does* have to give something as big as a peace and a love for life. I love Ecclesiastes so much <3 <3 <3
DeleteThank you for your comment, Nina!
This is amazing! Thank you for sharing this. ♥♥
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thank YOU for the comment! <3
DeleteWow, amen. This is so true and deep and thought-provoking (as all your posts are. I really look forward to each one. :) I relate, because I've felt the same way: just waiting for life to begin.. And, your explanation of those verses made perfect sense! They've never quite matched up for me before.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank you so much! And keep writing and enjoying life; your posts are a blessing.
aw THANK YOU!! so many times I don't know what to say to such flattering comments. I'm so glad this helped make sense of a couple confusing verses.
Deletethis is totally gorgeous <3 and your blog design, ahhhh! it's incredible :) and omg, we share the same name!
ReplyDeleteevelyn clickman @ if these stars shall fall
thank you, evelyn!! i do so love designing blogs <3
DeleteWhat do you know, we do! Mine's actually a pen name, but I love it <3
I'm learning lately how it really is the little things in life that bring the most joy:) This post was so beautifully written (as always!), Evelyn!
ReplyDeleteAmen! <3 Thank you, Grace!
DeleteHello Evelyn Ashby. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. What a blessings to know you by going through your about me page. I got your contact from the list of contributors to Buring Youth. I love getting connected with the people of God around the globe to be encouraged, strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 37 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to MUMBAI to work with us during their vacation time. We would love to have you along with your other team members from the Buring Youth come to work with us during your vacation time. Your coming will also be a time for our young people to be encouraged and strengthened in thier faith. I am sure this would be a life changing experience for you and rest of the team members. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. God's richest blessings on you, your family and the team of Buring Youth.
ReplyDelete