What’s new?

It’s always so cool to go out with my 2 year old daughter.  Everything is still new to her.  Things that I take for granted, are still fresh and exciting to her.

How do we lose that childlike view on things?  Solomon certainly did.

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.

There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow. (Ecclesiastes 1:4-11)

I think we get jaded when all our hopes and dreams start to fade.  The things that we sought, we find lead only to emptiness and loneliness.

We marry someone with great expectations, but the years pass, and soon the passion we once had for our spouse fades.

We buy new things, but after a few years, weeks, even days, the excitement fades.

We work hard all our lives, looking forward to the day when we can retire, and when it arrives, we find ourselves bored with life.  The things we thought would bring us pleasure, only satisfy for a short time, and then leave us dry.

How does that happen?  It happens when we lose sight of God in our lives. He is the source of love, joy, and peace in our lives.  Everything else can satisfy for a short time, but ultimately leaves us empty. 

But when our focus is on God, and on doing his will in our lives, then every day remains fresh and new.

When we love and honor our spouses as God intended, the marriage blossoms all the more instead of wilting away as time goes by.

When we do the work that God has for us, we find fulfillment, instead of just a nine-to-five job that we’re doing only to make money.

When we spend our free time as God would have us spend it, blessing people, and letting others bless us, life stays fresh and interesting.

How about you?  Are you feeling like life is a drag?  That nothing is new?  That you’re just existing, rather than truly living?

There’s only one solution to that.  Stop making yourself the center of your life.  When your life centers around you, life dries up.

But when your life is centered around God and his will, your life remains fresh and full of joy.

Seek him.  Seek his will for your life.  And every day will be new, filled with adventure, God’s love, joy, and peace.