The Wisdom of Ecclesiastes: Expect Disruptions

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. ~ Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

What you spend years building might be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. ~ Dr. Kent Keith

Expect the unexpected.
Expect to be disrupted.
Expect that might even be painful.
What do we do with the inevitability of life's disruptions?
It seems being swift enough or strong enough or wise enough or intelligent enough or skillful enough isn't going to stop them from happening.
So what then?
Some read the text today and think that life is simply unfair.
Others read it and find comfort knowing that God, and not human beings, is in charge, and that makes life worth pursuing regardless of the disruptions.
And others - and I probably include myself here if I'm honest - slide back and forth between the two notions.
I've always wanted to be prepared for whatever life throws at me. I struggle with anxiety, and that gets heightened when I have little control over a situation.
Sometimes that makes me want to throw my hands up in despair.
And other times it makes me move forward, knowing that regardless of how prepared or not prepared I am, continuing on might be healing work regardless of the outcome.
I suspect I'm not alone here.
Life will give me - us - disruptions. And all my preparation or training or skill or status won't stop that.
And yet hopefully we can still move forward, because despite problems or fears we might face, life is still worth living.
And then we too can help others when they are faced with life's disruptions.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me for life and stay with me when life gives me the unexpected! Amen

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