Nothing under the sun is truly new.

Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1 vrs 9 writes "History merely repeats itself.  It has all been done before.  Nothing under the sun is truly new." (NLT).  A sobering way to being day 4 of writing.  Nothing is new?  And yet the university expects me to do original research?  Really?  If Solomon in all his wisdom arrives at this conclusion, who am I to try to find something new?

Yet there is this sense of reassurance in it as well.  The struggle to write, to create a centre of focus in my world is not new.  Generations of writers, scholars, preachers, farmers, brick layers, parents, and bakers all have struggled with the task of making meaning of the world around them.  My effort to make meaning out of a changing world and attempt to understand God's direction for the world is limited by my own limitations but also by the human condition - it is impossible to know what is next as it is in God's hand.

If there is, according to Solomon, no end to work, to study, to finding pleasure and each in and of themselves, each are meaningless, what is there - in life that is true?  Something that is true for me as an immigrant kid as it was for grandparents in a small village in the Netherlands?  Solomon tells us to enjoy life as a gift from God.

At this point, I have many gifts from God to celebrate in life.  The delight of watching my children transition into young adults full of potential and energy.  The joy of work that allows me to lead a team of great colleagues who each make a difference in the lives of students.  The simple delight of turning dry beans into a pot of something delicious.  The comfort and peace of a 25 year marriage.  Friends who extend my world beyond my home.  A church family that nourishes my spiritual life through the act of putting painted hands on a piece of fabric.  The creativeness of an energetic group of 10-year olds in Sunday School.

On to writing and shaking some more thoughts out of my head so I can write a literature review.

"Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty." (Ecclesiastes 12 v 13"