Day 252 Where it is

If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Ecclesiastes 11:3

Well. That's pretty matter of fact. Where ever it falls, there it is. I suppose Solomon could afford to think that. Besides, there aren't many trees in Israel. It's a desert. On the other hand, I think the challenge might be in living out that matter-of-fact-ness in our daily lives.

Here's a college student's take on that. Kelly lived in England for a year, and she was finally flying home. She decided to standby for an earlier flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles. She presented Her standby request to the gate representative and watched as the room began to fill with other passengers. After an hour, they began boarding the plane and calling standby passengers to board.

"I watched as not just one, but a dozen people were called ahead of me," Kelly said. "The room was nearly empty and the flight was loaded. About five minutes before the gate was to close, my name was called. A huge wave of relief rushed over me. I was onboard.

"What frustrates me, though, is that I probably spent 24 hours stressing over whether or not I would get on this flight. As a result, I was short with my friends as I packed. I was rude to the taxi driver because I was stressed and in a hurry."

 We all have areas of life that we stress about, get angry over, and worry about that we have absolutely no control over at all! Whether a cancelled or delayed flight, a rainstorm when you planned an outdoor event, waiting in line at the checkout counter, a restaurant not serving you as quickly as you would like, or something else.

What Solomon understood was that there was a lot in life that was out of his control. If the clouds are full of water, then it will rain. If they’re not, it won’t.... If they have a seat, I will get on the flight. If they don’t, I won’t. oh. (doh.)

It is easy to get caught up in the moment and panic if you try to control everything going on around you. But, there is great wisdom in what Solomon is saying. Sometimes (sometimes!) you just have to go with the flow.

A lot of life is out of our control.... What we can control is how we react. Will we be short with a waiter because our food isn’t perfect, or will we kindly explain our need? Will we be rude to others because our flight has been cancelled, or will we be able to take a deep breath and remember that where a tree falls, it falls?

Dang. I hate that.