Take It All In

However many years a man may live, 
       let him enjoy them all. 
       But let him remember the days of darkness, 
       for they will be many. 
       Everything to come is meaningless.  Ecclesiastes 11:8


My mother taught me a long time ago that the life we are given is not a sprint.  It is a marathon.  I am sure many of you have heard this from your parents as well.  Furthermore, everyone is at a different point in the race.  Some of us who have been running it for a long time have been referred to as ‘older’.  It is interesting that although I certainly would be referred to by my children as ‘old’, I do not feel that way.  In fact, one might say spiritually I am fairly young.  There is a part of me that might lead me to believe that I have gotten old because I am not as fast and I have to go to bed early the day after staying out late the night before.  However, I have lived just over half the lifespan of my Dad, and where some things were not exactly what I would expect, I look at where I am today and have to say my life has been a good one thus far.  God has truly smiled on me.


None of us were promised that all the days would be sunny.  Additionally, none of us are promised tomorrow.  The life we live is full of joyful moments as well as times of sorrow.  There are triumphant times and tragic circumstances.  We have moments where we have been blessed with things that came our way, and equally as important, we have been blessed by lessons that we have learned as a result of failure.  No matter what has happened in our lives, we should embrace all of it!  You might ask are we really to accept the failures in our lives?  Even the times that we disappointed God and ourselves?  Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, and here is why.  Think of those times.  If we understand our failures and disappointments (the who, the why, the when), then those become areas of growth both personally and spiritually.  If I, a person who at the lowest point of his life broke down in his mother’s kitchen because he felt he had become a total failure at the young age of nineteen can become an instrument for God to help others, I can tell you that your failures will be a source of strength for God to use you in the future.  God is all-knowing, and to trust that He has always been there means we are to embrace all of our lives, which aides in our relationship with Him today and beyond.


Today’s verse serves as encouragement that we are to enjoy all of our years.  Sure there are days of darkness, but each day of darkness is nonetheless a day we have an opportunity to serve God faithfully here that many others did not.  One might say a day with God in Heaven today would be better than any day here on Earth, and that is true.  However, I believe that if we are still here, it is because our work here is not done, and He has a plan for us all.  As such, we should be glad of those days because He has chosen us to continue our journey to do as the Lord’s prayer says His will here as it is in Heaven.  My prayer is that we reflect on all of our life with a perspective full of love and appreciation.  May we embrace both the good and bad and take it all in.  Amen.