So the other day I felt called to start reading Ecclesiastes and one of the first things written: “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” (v2) I must say that I was a little taken aback and as I continued to read , reflected on how bleak the passage seemed to be..the futility of wisdom, the futility of pleasure, the futility of work, of injustice... the author compares these things to chasing the wind, it’s all meaningless… So I’m reading these uplifting and encouraging verses and finding that actually, the words, the ideas… they are resonating within me. These things, without God, are meaningless – we came from the dust and to the dust we will return. Both the wise man and foolish man will meet the same end, so why seek wisdom?
People strive to comprehend the why’s of life: Why are we here? Why do bad things happen? Why aren’t they being healed? Why is this still a struggle? What’s the meaning/point? Is everything meaningless?
The past month and a bit I’ve had a lot of direct contact with situations that one would look at and wonder…Why? …Why God?
… Someone struggling with mental illness, who loves the Lord, who genuinely seeks Him and yet is overcome with numbness, pain, struggle, experiencing loss and unable to seemingly gain any traction…
… A family working through the tragedy of losing a baby in a random house fire, grieving and having to pick up the pieces while dealing with the criticism of onlookers…
… Tropical storm/hurricane Nate coming in and causing millions of dollars worth of damage, destroying homes, taking lives…
When faced with these questions I’ve concluded that instead of questioning and trying to puzzle everything together (as I am prone to do) it is better to focus on who God is. God is all knowing, His ways are greater (Isaiah 55:8-9), His definition of suffering is different than what we here on Earth view it as. He is for us (Romans 8:28-31), He knows what’s best, and most importantly He is trustworthy. It doesn’t mean He likes to see us in pain but He is able to use it for our greater good. In other (more eloquent) words: “…eternity has been planted in our heart [Ecclesiastes 3:11]. This refers to our innate human desire for ultimate meaning in life. Yet in this life, our perspective and understanding are limited. We can’t always understand why we suffer. It is like looking at the underside of an Oriental rug. All we see are knots and loose ends; we can only faintly make out the rug’s pattern.” – NLT Reflections on Ecclesiastes Prayer/Praise:
So even though Hurricane Nate paid us a visit and destroyed part of the road I needed to take to get to Nicaragua (in order to renew my visa) I was able to change my bus tickets and instead catch a flight the next day to Guatemala, all the while spending some wonderful quality time with Kate, a Stay member (Latin Link’s way of referencing long term missionaries).
Jana is here! She is our new Strider (short term missionary) She’s going to be with us until April 2018. This is a picture of her with her new Tica host mom.
- Along with Jana came a lovely cold for me! Wooo! I would greatly appreciate prayer for lots of antibodies so that my body can heal and be stronger than ever!
- Today, I went to pay my rent and my landlady’s mother, who hasn’t been well seems to be getting worse. She is usually waiting for me with a bright smile and we joke about all the
boyfriends she has and how she had best be behaving; she gives me about a million kisses and sometimes I stay and watch the news with her or we have a glass of orange juice at the table while I ensure she takes all her medications. Last month, she had fallen and couldn’t remember who I was, today I got to see her and while she remembered who I was and flashed a classic smile, she didn’t want to get out of bed or eat, she just wanted to hold my hand. I took some time after, to talk with my landlady who said that she hasn’t wanted to eat anything for days and things are very difficult in their home. Please pray that God would bring healing into their home, that they would know and believe in Jesus and that she would be able to enjoy many more years! Ultimately, His will be done, but I’m selfish and want her to stay a while longer :)
"And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.” - Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
As someone who seems to fall into the brooding category more often than not this passage was a breath of fresh air. May God keep us so engaged in savouring life that we have no time to dwell or stress! 
