CELEBRATING LIFE

"Behold that which I have seen:

it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion." ~ Ecclesiastes 5:18

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." ~ James 1:17

I've been reading in Ecclesiastes lately ... a book of the Bible which I have always struggled with because of the pessimism it seems to portray. My spiritual eyes have been opened to the light of who God is and I have a growing relationship with Him, so I read it through that viewpoint, which makes the statements about everything being "meaningless" somewhat confusing. However, the author does make some very profound and true statements about God.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came in order that whoever came to Him "might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

So when I read Ecclesiastes 5:18 and meditated on it, I realized it was a jewel indeed. Every day that we have IS a gift from God, and as followers of Christ we can live joyfully in the time that God has given us, with what He has given us to do because we know that God is sovereign, even though we can't understand all the "whys" of this life.

That is a great motivation for celebrating and living "joy"-fully today: knowing that this is a day given to me by God and that by living every moment of it in an attitude of thankfulness and praise I am giving Him honor and acknowledging that He is God over my life.

WITH EVERYTHING...

With every day I see... new aspects of life here and new things to enjoy -- like beautiful purple morning-glory flowers on the way to language school, and places to try exciting new foods!

With every class I realize...how little I know and how to gracefully accept my mistakes -- and I trust that I will remember what I am taught.

With every word I learn...how to communicate what I need for living here -- and yet it is just a drop in the bucket, since there is so much more I want to know!

With every step I feel...a little more adjusted to the way of life here -- and I don't even mind the calluses on my feet so much. I'm getting a lot of exercise and it feels good!

With every hour I find...that time works differently here and I need to adjust my expectations -- the things I need to do will get done, just maybe in different timing that I wanted, and that's okay.

With every prayer I praise... God for His blessings and for the endurance, patience and grace He provides -- He truly is my sufficiency!

~ In everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~