Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Week 30

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, “And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”

Isaiah 55:2, “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”

I am perplexed by the never-ending search for “satisfaction.”

It seems like we are constantly waiting for things to be “right.” Things would be perfect if I had the right job. Things would be perfect if I was in a relationship. Things would be perfect if I made more money. It seems impossible to have the “right” mixture of ingredients to satisfy this empty space.

Of course, the main problem is that we are searching for the wrong things to satisfy us. A job won't do it. A relationship won’t do it. Money won’t do it. As Solomon tells us it’s all vanity.

I often wonder it is that I am really searching and looking for. I haven’t found it.

I know I find satisfaction in writing and editing.

There is a song that’s called “He Wants It All” and it has been in my heart these last few days.

It is time for me to labor towards something that will last.

So for my prayer it is for God to help me to give all of myself. To accomplish this anthology is going to take me outside of my normal comfort zone.

1 comment:

Liza said...

I'm right there with you on this one! It's easy for me to fall into that mind frame of, "If I just had...(blank), life would be great!" I think lately I'd just be happy if no one was in crisis mode for 5 minutes.

I got a rowing machine for my birthday...a really nice one that I've been wanting for years. I finally decided to commit to rowing almost everyday with the goal of rowing from my house to Matthews Beach in Washington state. I've got little goals of rowing to the towns along the way to keep me motivated and it's worked! I can't wait to add to my distance each day. I feel so much better, and I have more energy. But right about the time I start feeling great about life, I find out mom, who hasn't spoken to me in over a year, has cervical cancer and Susan has started to act more nutty, breaking my heart with her cruel behavior. For a while, I started to devalue any joy I had gotten from my rowing, but I quickly decided that I have every right to be happy about something and continue being excited about it! I think we have to decide to be happy in spite of "life" sometimes! I don't think it's part of the deal to live on this earth to have everything "perfect". I think the challenge is to strive for perfect and find joy on that journey.