Wisdom.

 Looking back.

I use to live here. Thinned the forest to build a sturdy home. Planted orchards and tended a garden. Had chickens to enthusiastically greet me. In season, Canadian Geese would feed from my hand. Almost daily I would stroll around the pond, and on Sabbath spend time praying in the woods. Life was good, now it’s better.

The upkeep was laborious. Fields to mow, fallen branches to gather, coups to clean, trees to prune, gardens to weed, equipment to repair and fire wood to cut all demanded my time. The more we have, the more of our energy is spent maintaining it. In my younger years I didn’t notice, I thought I had energy to spare.

I’m older now with less to do, and more time to live. By God’s grace I have learned some things about living. Life is short, energy is fleeting and lots of stuff don’t matter. So, live it well by taking God’s advice when it comes to fretting about THINGS.

“And He said to His disciples, ‘For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” (Luke 12:22-23) I was worried about my life as I labored to provide for a “future-whatever.” My problem was the sin of self-sufficiency. I didn’t trust God to provide. So, I labored ……. until I began to seek His kingdom.

The Father knows the things I need and provides them as He promised. The time that remains will be well spent on things that matter to my Father. Looking back I am so thankful for God’s lessons taught over time. With wonder I gaze into Christ’s love that has told us these things. We are loved.