I was reminded tonight of a favorite passage from Ecclesiastes. I went through a period of time one summer many years ago when I felt like everything was pretty meaningless, so what better place to spend time than in that book? I camped out on chapter 11:1-6 which at first glance makes little sense at all. Here it is:
Cast your bread upon the water, for after many days you will find it again.
Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.
Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
So yeah, pretty strange. But this is what God said to me through it: You can't possibly understand this life or what I'm trying to do. I am sovereign and that is for Me to know. Your job is just to be filled with Me and to let Me use you however I desire. I will bring fruit from your life.
A good reminder for me these days, so I'm going to go dwell on it, right after I tell my daughter to quit trying to climb her doorframe and get back into bed. So I'll leave you with the poem I wrote about this passage, let's see, about 11 years ago.
Bread Upon the Waters
Blow you winds where you will
Only let that it may be
Upon my back, pushing me onward
Causing my life to be
As bread upon the waters
Poured forth heedlessly, yet anchored to You.
I will take no thought of it,
For where I fall, there I lie.
As I am filled, therefore will I rain.
Rain upon the waters, life back to life.
Take me, fill me, cast me out on the path of Your wind
O Maker of all things.
Winding Down
12 years ago
3 comments:
Beautiful....wonderfully written!!
Wow! I got so much out of the passage and your writing....good meat for the day. Thanks!
Gina ~
Do you write poems often? I kind of remember Christopher telling me you were a poet, but if wouldn't be the first time I missinterpreted him.
All that said I would like to express that this poem is very lovely and it really shines new light on a seeminly strange passage of scripture.
I used to write poems a lot, back when I didn't have kids and therefore had time to reflect on my life. :) Actually, most of my poetry comes as an expression of times when I'm feeling quite down or disturbed, so I guess it's a good thing that i don't write it as much.
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