Meaningless

It's all meaningless. Isn't that what the writer of Ecclesiastes told us so many times? Everything is meaningless. 

But that's not what he meant. I don't think so, anyway. 

See, we look at life and when we think about the simple day-to-day tasks whether they are washing laundry, doing dishes, job hunting, picture taking or sorting (more personal one for me there), letter writing,  bed making, driving, conversations, walks on the beach, etc. we can look at them and see that in and of themselves they really are worthless. 

However, if I think about this again I understand that when my life is lived for God it doesn't matter what I do--dishes, pictures, conversation--all of these things are no longer meaningless. The things that I do have a purpose, if I do them for God. 

This past summer, as many of you know, I worked at camp. Looking back at it, one could wonder how a bunch of crazy college-aged kids singing silly songs, performing stunts, and chasing kids around for a summer succeeded in making any difference at all. In fact, I wondered that myself. Am I making a difference here? How can this craziness actually point to God? What's the point?

But I get it. The craziness might not point to God in itself, but the people in the craziness can. I do hesitate to argue that the only way you can keep kids interested/learning is if they get to pie their choice cabin leader, however, if it works, it works, right? 

I feel like I'm rambling, but what I guess I'm trying to say is that any of these little things we do, if done for the right reason--for God's glory--it suddenly stops being meaningless. 

There's this little girl I met at camp. I met dozens of girls at camp, but this one stood out to me. Her parents came for the banquet right at the beginning of summer and I was in charge of the 7-9 year-olds. I had been in charge of the older group, but the two of us clicked and I pulled some strings. 

It's really not a very long story, but to make it shorter... We started writing letters to each other. We have been writing all summer. I had hoped I might make a difference in someone's life this summer, and until today I still wondered if I had. Then I got an email from her pastor's wife. She assured me that God has kept His hand on our little letters and I have a hope that He will continue to work through me with this special little girl. 

I'm excited. Suddenly I am reassured that this summer -- well, it had a purpose. It had a purpose far greater than I can imagine even now. If I was able to guide one life to Jesus, if I was able to encourage one soul to continue following Him, then my summer was not meaningless. 

Now as I sit here trying to figure out what to do with my life, because only God knows what my next step is even now as I feel I should have already taken it, I wait. As long as I walk in His will I know that the things I do will not be meaningless and He will show me what He would have me do.

Jesus, thank you.