12 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
Ecclesiastes 12:1
We have finally reached the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, supposedly written by “the Teacher” who is believed to be King Solomon, son of King David. Solomon prayed to God for wisdom when he took over David’s kingship as he realized he was young and not the first of David’s sons to try to succeed David. Solomon has compared wisdom and folly in life. He sees in the circle of life a redundancy that makes life feel meaningless. He realizes the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish, the talented and the untalented all die. So what’s the point? He ponders how all that is worked for during life, is left to someone who may squander it and that leaves him feeling empty. Chapter three has the famous verses about there being a time for everything and its opposite in life. He continues weighing his left hand of folly against his right hand of wisdom. Life feels like smoke that clouds our vision so we can only focus on that near us and we cannot get perspective of the big picture. Today he advises enjoying life when we are young before we age and start carrying responsibility and before we enter old age when our strengths begin to decline and our pleasures may be more sedentary and our spouses or agemates start dying.
My husband and I liked on anniversaries to make a list of what was one of our favorite blessings for each decade of our life. What was our favorite song or game or friend in our single digit years, our teens, our twenties and so on. Take time to list the decades of your life and a favorite memory from that decade that blessed you. Perhaps it was a friend, or a job, or a trip. Perhaps you have a friend you could share your list with. Now thank God for those experiences.
On the Way to Wonder 