Roots and Storms

September 8th, 2023

Greetings—

Everything is Meaningless

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one can say,“Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

—Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (NIV)

Yesterday, I spent time with my dad and my brother talking about the care my dad needs and deserves. Many of our friends and family are aware of our situation and have provided emotional and physical support. My brother and I know we are very blessed. Seeing our dad age is beautiful and difficult; providing care and support to a parent is a privilege. The difficult part is wanting to do any and everything to provide the very best possible care for them; however, also knowing that there will be financial limitations.

I want to provide for my dad the way he and mom provided for me and my brother as we were growing up. Both of our parents, like most parents, worked very hard to give us all we needed and some of what we wanted.

Our family is not perfect by any means; we had and continue to have lots of love and laughter. As a kid, I did not appreciate all the sacrifices my family made to provide a happy, healthy and stable home-life for me and my brother. We grew up and lived in the same small town and mostly on the same piece of land. In fact I’m sitting in my dads house right now, it’s not the one I grew up in, as they built a new home on the same property a few decades ago. I’ve lived in only two separate homes growing up and they are literally only a few blocks apart. The original house is torn down now, but when I drive by the empty lot, I remember. My brother was only two when we moved from one house to another, so he doesn’t really remember our first house. The town I grew up in had an approximate population of 125 people. My hometown is Yeddo, IN. It was founded sometime in the mid to late 1800’s: records show that it had a post office in operation from 1881-1964.

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Yeddo had a population of 202 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

https://roadsidethoughts.com/in/yeddo-xx-fountain-census.htm

As I sit here in my parents home, memories flash through my mind. I am reminiscing of the holiday’s spent together; sharing meals with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and friends. I miss the sounds of laughter in the retelling of old stories. The competitive spirits of playing games at the dining room table. Remembering lazy Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons watching movies on a rented VCR and VHS tape from the local video store, (long before blockbuster’s). I’m that old! 😉 The house is filled with things, the most priceless of all is the memories. The material things are nice but it’s not the particular item that is precious, it’s the visual and sensory response it ignites inside of me.

How does one sum up their life, it is not the physical possessions, it’s the memories that were created with them. The older I get, the more I realize it’s the connections, passions and experiences that bring me happiness, not a collection of things that merely take up space. *I do have things, more than I need or deserve and I know that they could be gone tomorrow and I would be okay because of my memories. I have a substantial collection of Flintstones memorabilia and I used to have it displayed in a room all to itself. I moved over a year ago and it’s all still in boxes. I don’t love it any less but I don’t need it on display because what makes it special to me is how it came to be in my possession. Over a period of about 15 years, I scoured through antique shops, festivals and yard sales in search of anything Flintstones with family, friends and lovers, it was the people with me that matters. Some items I have were gifts, and the true gift is the person who gifted the item to me.

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil?

I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.

That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; God will call the past to account.

—Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 (NIV)

Lastly, I would like to share two devotionals with you that I read yesterday and formed the foundation for this post.

Download this app to get your daily devotions: http://jctrois.com

Roots & Power to the Weak 09/07/2023

Roots:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. —Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

The Christian life is never stagnant. Once we accept Jesus we must continue to be vigilant in the choice to follow after Him. As we grow in our understanding of who He is, the Bible, and grow strong ties to other Believers then deep roots of faith grow in our lives. When we are rooted in our faith we are able to stand strong when we go through the storms of this life.

The Power of the Weak: (Storms)

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. —Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)

Do you recall a situation where the harder you tried to mend something, the worse it became? Sometimes it’s a relationship where you try to say and do the right things only to make the other person upset. No matter what the situation, remember that God is in control, not you. When you’re feeling powerless, God will empower you. The next time you’re in a situation like this, say a prayer to reveal your weakness and acknowledge that God is in control.

As I end my day, I pray for strength and guidance not just for myself; you are also in my my prayers. We are all on separate journeys and yet, we are all traveling together. My hopes, fears and struggles are no more or less important than yours, we have more in common than we realize. Our help comes from the Lord! In a world filled with darkness, shine the light of God wherever you go. —May the peace of God shine upon you today and always.

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience. 🌸🌹🌺🌷💐