Wisdom...

"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless!"


There is no remembrance of men of old
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.


I have seen all things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

~Ecclesastes 1:2, 1:11,and 1:14~


Oh Solomon, how I can relate. Everything seems pointless.

School seems pointless. I'm working my tail off to earn a piece of paper that says I'm qualified to say I have an English degree--but not qualified to do anything with it. For that, I would need some other piece of paper--one the says I have mastered the art of English or the art of Teaching.

People seem pointless. I don't know if I have very many lasting friendships right now. I look back at last April, and I think to myself that I didn't hang out with any of these people then nor do I hang out with any of those people from last April now. What about next April? Will any of these people be there? Maybe I am unable to make lasting friendships.

Music seems pointless. I'm a mediocre guitarist devoting all his time to a band that might break up in a year. Everyone else will be putting their useful college degrees into use, and I'll still be stuck in some boyhood dream. Will I be left alone in my musical dreams come May 2007?

Work seems pointless. I'm attaining experience in a field that I hate--mail. When am I ever going to need that skills set? I can put a stamp on. I can sort by mail rate. I can tell you the theory behind zip codes. Need to know the price for postage on something? That should come in handy if I ever decide to throw my life away in a career in the warehouse part of the post office.

What is the point of everything? If there is no point, why haven't I given up yet?

Solomon had an answer.

"Now all has been heard
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments
for this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgement,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil."

~Ecclesiastes 12:13-14~

So, everything else seems pointless. True. Nonetheless, follow God.

School seems pointless. People seem pointless. Music seems pointless. Work seems pointless.

Follow God.

Everything seems pointless.

Follow God.

I have no idea where I'm going.

Follow God.

I can't see the road ahead.

Follow God.

I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Follow God.

I will never know the future. Maybe I will write great novels someday, and I'll thank my Arkansas professors that made me love literature. Maybe the people that are beside me today will be there tomorrow, even if they weren't there yesterday. Maybe when I accept my nomination into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, I'll look at Adam and Matt and Bailey and TC to say, "Thanks for never letting me give up on boyhood dreams." Although, I'll probably always hate mail.

Nonetheless, God has a plan for me. I don't know what it is. I get frustrated that sometimes the roads that I worked hard to travel just lead me to more roads to travel when I just want to be at the destination He has assigned for me. He's leading me somewhere. When I look back from that place, I'll thank Him for the roads He took me down and the memories He gave me.

Right now, I haven't a clue. Period. I have no clue.

Someday, it will all make sense. Until then...

Follow God.




By the way, this post started without any intention of adding hope to it. God just decided to use His Word to change my heart. Thanks God.