Time isn't what you think it is, nor is eternity

I've been given a gift of a subscription to Ancestry.com and found looking at family history fascinating. Names have come to my attention which I had no knowledge of before. Most of these people I have discovered  passed away long ago. Some married and established families I can contact. Some didn't wed either from choice or early death. I can imagine if you did a similar search, you would come up with like experiences.

My husband and I took a trip recently to visit our Moms and other family and friends. I posted some photos from this trip on Facebook.

What is the connection between the above two paragraphs and Scripture?

I have always seen Psalm 90 as a psalm of my family, on both my Mom's and my Dad's side. As Moses wrote in verse 1, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations." This has been true of someone in each generation as far as I have been able to track back in my genealogical research. The rest of the psalm resonates also, of course, since it is a whole.

Then there is the overlooked Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Two chapters in particular came to my mind as I reflected: chapter 3 and 12.

Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes begins this way: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven," then verses 2-8 expand with comparisons and contrasts. With verse 9, we have a change from poetry to prose, perceptions too many of us skip over, such as verse 14: "I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people may fear him."

Chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes reminds me of the opening verses of chapter 3 and expands on them:
"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened [because you can no longer see as well] and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few [your teeth diminish in number or strength], and those who look through the window are dimmed [again vision changes], and the doors on the street are shut--when the sound of the grinding is low [less good hearing], and one rises up at the sound of  bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low [even singing voices change often]--they are also afraid of what is high [curbs, stairs], and terrors in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets--before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel is broken at the cistern [all examples of the way death comes], and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (comments mine).

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 conclude both the chapter and the book:
"The whole end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."

However young or old you are I commend to you this prayer of Moses in Psalm 90:
"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (verse 12).

Expectations and Reality

I expected to write something for my blog a week ago. The reality was, I encountered technical difficulties.
They were my fault, as I did not check something when I ought to have done so.
I didn't expect to need to do that.
Reality was no post last Tuesday as a result.
Reality meant taking time to check this week.
Reality meant embarrassment when I realized I had overlooked something which was probably the cause of the technical difficulties.
Reality also with gratitude for grace in the solving of the matter by my husband as he did not chide me when he might have.

Ephesians 4:11-14 and Being a Writer

I found myself contemplating Ephesians 4:11-14: "And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry (my note: not to do the work of ministry), for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

Being a Writer

Garry had an episode of "The Waltons" on in which someone was trying to dissuade John-Boy from considering writing as a career, stating how few could make a living as a writer.

I haven't made money as a writer, just enough to cover costs, to break even, but that's okay. I have thought of my being a writer more as a calling, ministry you might say.

My friend Marilyn talked me into starting a blog seven years ago. From that and other writing I have done I have complied four devotional books now. Will I continue to blog? Will I compile another devotional book? Only time will tell.

Right Remembering vs. Yearning for "The Good Old Days"

Since we moved to only the fifth home we have shared since we got married, the process of unpacking has brought many memories out of storage. Just the other evening, a phone call included the question, "Where did you get these photos?" I had emailed some, and I said, "Oh, they were in a box, and they will go back into a box."

Thirteen years ago, after a major move, I wrote several poems, including one called "Rememories," but they were pretty much all forward looking.

Why is this important?

Ecclesiastes 7:10 states, "Do not say, 'Why is it that the former days were better than these?' It is not from wisdom that you ask about this."

Reminiscing is one thing, but yearning for the "good old days" is something clearly forbidden by this verse.

What is the difference? Let's consider several of the Psalms. Let's also look at Lamentations 3:20-24.

In Psalms 42 and 43, the psalmist is distressed and yet encourages himself by remembering and anticipating in Psalm 42, verses 5 and 11. And again in Psalm 53, verse 5, we have this refrain, "Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."

In Psalms 77 and 78, Asaph encourages first himself and then the nation to recall the deeds of the Lord, remember His wonders, and meditate on both His words and deeds--history experienced.

In Psalms 106 and 107, the nation is encouraged to remember God's deliverances, and Psalm 107 ends with this: "Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord."

In Lamentations 3:20-24, Jeremiah poignantly states, "Surely my soul remembers, and is bowed down within me. This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.'"

We need to remember the goodness of the Lord when circumstances would drag us down and toward thinking about "the good old days."