You can't take it with you when you go...

So I went into breakdown mode last night when I started thinking about just how great God is, and how blessed we are to have been created and given the gift of life, and the daily blessings that are so often taken for granted.  The Lord is so great, and we are so small and insignificant, and it really just overwhelms me to think about how little I am in the grand scheme of things.  However, God created each and every one of us (according to a statistic I saw the other day, over 125 billion humans have inhabited the earth so far) and every eyelash and freckle and birthmark are His design.  

That's love.  He loved us before we were born, before we stepped away from Him in sin, and after we rebelled against His love, He still stood by us and offered us entrance into heaven.  The only thing we have to do is have faith in Him and His Word.  Live life according to the principles that Jesus set out for us, the example that He was when He walked the earth.  

I'm still trying to find a good way to actually read the Bible, because one of the things I need to work on within the context of my faith walk is my knowledge of the Word.  However, I was reading the Message last night at a friend's house and ended up reading Ecclesiastes 5-12.  I really like the way the Message words things sometimes, because it makes reading the Bible almost like reading a more modern story (even though the Bible is applicable and relevant today, the language alteration helps my understanding).  

This was probably my favorite verse though, because it spoke to my anxiety about not being enough of a Christian to satisfy God's expectations for us... "Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good.  It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.  And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it.  To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life, this is indeed a gift from God.  God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past."  - Eccl. 5:18-20

Granted, this verse could definitely be taken to the extreme and made out to be God giving us permission to just revel in our ways and indulge our pleasures uncontrollably.  However, as you read farther into the book, it seems to be referring more to the fact that we are blessed, and God does give us gifts so that we might enjoy them.  We do however need to remember, as mentioned, that ours on earth is a short blip in time, and that we will have to answer for our choices in eternity.  

So be thankful for the blessings that God gives you, and enjoy each moment that you have, acting in accordance with God's will for us and the world.  We are all given our place for a reason, though it is often beyond our comprehension, He has a plan.