"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation
comes,
but the earth remains forever....
...All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will
be done,
and there is nothing new under the
sun."
So often I find myself praying for wisdom and guidance, things that are valuable and should be strived for for sure. But then I am once again led to Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 where Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived says: "I said in my heart, "I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
Interesting thoughts from the wisest man who ever lived as I myself am asking for wisdom. Most recently I have been convicted while reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I have changed my prayer from asking for God's will, guidance and wisdom in my life to praying for the Spirit to make Himself alive in me and to work each and every day in my life and make Himself known. As a result I have had this overwhelming burden fill my heart for the country of Haiti and have been convicted of how selfish I am. This led me to the initial passage I shared from Ecclesiastes about "All is vanity" another word for vanity could be meaningless. When you look back at history and realize how short our time is here on earth all the small stuff really does become meaningless. The color of nail polish on my fingers & whether or not it's chipping, the brand of clothes that I am wearing, where I buy my coffee, and the phone I talk on, meaningless.
I want nothing more than to make the short span of my life here on earth count for the Lord, and in these past months as I have re-adjusted to life back in the states and have moved to LA to begin my career I have gotten lost in the rat race of life. I have forgotten the reward of helping others.
Proverbs 11:24 shares this: "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." I want to be a giver. It was a year ago this week that Haiti was hit with that horrible earthquake that took the lives of so many Haitians and left thousands of others homeless and without water. A nation that was already pathetic at best was now devastated beyond imagination. 12 short months ago all of our hearts were grabbed and everyone was on the brink of jumping into a plane to go help. Today Haiti is in the same condition and no one talks about the country anymore. How can a place with so much need that is just beyond our borders be so easily overlooked? How could I get so wrapped up in myself less than a year after returning from a life-changing trip around the world?
Unfortunately, our memory is short and we are all prone to worrying about today and miss out on life. A quote I love is this : "Any given moment can change your life, you just have to be there." Life is happening now. What have you been wanting to do out of the ordinary but have been putting off? What is the Lord laying on your heart or prompting you to do that you have been putting off? Have you asked Him lately?
I am excited to see what 2011 will bring, am thankful for the change in my prayer life and can't wait to see when I will be returning to Haiti! Let me know if you have heard of any ministries that are in need of a nurse!! :)
