The Wisdom of Ecclesiastes: Remember

Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity. ~ Ecclesiastes 12:1-8


“Then, suddenly again, Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world, with his chin in his hand, called out "Pooh!" "Yes?" said Pooh. "When I'm--when--Pooh!" "Yes, Christopher Robin?" "I'm not going to do Nothing any more." "Never again?" "Well, not so much. They don't let you." Pooh waited for him to go on, but he was silent again. "Yes, Christopher Robin?" said Pooh helpfully. "Pooh, when I'm--you know--when I'm not doing Nothing, will you come up here sometimes?" "Just me?" "Yes, Pooh." "Will you be here too?" "Yes Pooh, I will be really. I promise I will be Pooh." "That's good," said Pooh. "Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred." Pooh thought for a little. "How old shall I be then?" "Ninety-nine." Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said. Still with his eyes on the world Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt Pooh's paw. "Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly, "if I--if I'm not quite--" he stopped and tried again-- "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?" "Understand what?" "Oh, nothing." He laughed and jumped to his feet. "Come on!" "Where?" said Pooh. "Anywhere." said Christopher Robin.

So, they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” ~ A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner


We are nearing the end of the Teachers musings on life.
And all apparently is still vanity. Still vapor.
Here. And then gone. Our youth does not stay. Suffering will come. Troubles will come.
So where in the end is life meaningful when mortality strikes us all? Even a little boy like Christopher Robin knows it will come.
Does it come in remembering?
Remembering our creator. Remembering our playmates. Remembering the life we got to live. Remembering the experiences we had.
Not everyone gets to remember. For some, remembering will slowly fade.
And when that happens, they depend on others to remember for them. 
Life may become vapor, but our Creator has us securely even still. Even when we suffer. Even when age comes or trouble comes.
Even when we sadly can't remember.
Or when we need to help others remember. When we get the honor to show God to them. 
To show Christ to them.
To sing songs to them. To share joy with them.
To be Christ to them.
To help them see that there is still an enchanted place both now and to come.

Prayer: Lord, remember me when I come into your kin-dom. Amen

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