Ecclesiastes & Birthdays

Everyone should read Ecclesiastes on their birthday every year simply because Solomon explained to us the reality of life from God's point of view. I arrived naked from the womb of my mother; I will leave in the same condition--with nothing. There's a right time and way for everything. It's true that no one knows what's going to happen, or when. Life leads to death that life, while it lasts, will soon be over. There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth. A right time for birth and another for death. A right time to plant and another to reap. A right time to get sick and another to heal. A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer. A right time to make love and another to abstain. A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses. A right time to hold on and another to let go. A right time to rip out and another to mend. A right time to shut up and another to speak up. A right time to love and another to hate. Whether healthy and full of energy or weak and stricken with pain, I can greet a new day and welcome it as an opportunity to praise and worship God. He knows my current state and my tomorrows, if I have one. "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24). I know God is directing my paths and right now at 47 years old, I still don't know what God has plans for me, however, I have learned and know that all things work for good in my life. A Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. I have dealt with life experiences that God have allowed me to experienced. Life experiences have taught me character and hope. Without my trials, testing of my faith, working of my patience, and fighting my good fight.....my life could be really boring. I am to cling to the hope I have, not the things I experience in this life. I can face my tomorrow with a cheerful attitude and be unafraid simply because my yesterdays taught me life's reality lessons. I am here to learn all I can, and with what Christ has given to me, I will make the best and most of the situations in which I find myself into. I am aware that I have spiritual warfare between my flesh and spirit. Believing in God in my heart is important to know who I am is enough. More than enough is the key to a more spiritual and balanced life. Revelation 2:10 says, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.......be faithful even to the point of death”. Remember, Christ is the reason for my true life experiences (Philippians 1:21) that I am to give thanks to all circumstances I face (1 Thess. 5:16-18). God expects me to grow through my trials (James 1:2-4) and trials helped me develop patience and character (Romans 5:1-5). Christians are to bear one another’s burdens (Romans 12:9-16) and remember that God will use my own circumstances to help comfort others who face similar situations.