Corona Devo 742

Our house and hearts have been a little more full this past week.  Each bedroom had one or two extra bodies in it, and air mattresses and beds-made-of-blankets covered the floors at night.  Giggles and bickering and adventures filled the day and evening hours.  

My sister and family were in town from out-of-state.  

Have you hosted any family or friend company lately?  Or maybe someone is scheduled on your docket.

Entertaining loved ones is busy and messy and non-stop and chaotic and quite exhausting.

And wonderful.  ("Umm, hmm, and having a marvelous time.")

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.  ~Ecclesiastes 8:15

Yes, life is busy, and connected-life-with-others pushes us out of our routines and even comfort zones...and it's worth it.  (Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (25) And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  ~Hebrews 10:24-25)

Inside the giggling and bickering is real life and relationship and it's what God created us for.  It is also how He grows us and stretches us and reveals our own shortcomings as we lose patience or react and are "exposed" in our lack of righteousness.  

People and our relationships with them produce a living Science Lab experiment for love and acceptance and all of the fruits-of-the-spirit to be lived out ("love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control..." ~Galatians 5:22-23).  And if we are able to put on Christ, we will experience the wonder and contentment of connecting with people (our people!).

King Solomon (in the Bible) had experienced all of the physical/monetary/sensual/intellectual pleasures that the world had to offer, and yet, His "wisdom" in reflecting on life was that we should "enjoy the ride".  So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.  ~Ecclesiastes 8:15

With a houseful of people and a schedule-full of events...we ate and drank and were glad all right.  There was a birthday party, a wedding, pre-game meals, post-practice dessert buffets and an unending supply of (family recipe) Texas Sheet Cake.  Solomon hit the nail on the head when he said, "there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad" (Ecclesiastes 8:15).

We enjoyed life together.  If we can figure out how to do that with those we love...then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life... (Ecclesiastes 8:15).

We can't escape the "toil" of life, but we can enjoy the ride along the way with those we love, if we can cover our minds, hearts and attitudes in Christ.

People and relationships (overnight or not) can be busy and messy and non-stop and chaotic and quite exhausting.  But, they make the ride of life worthwhile, and life sure is more fun with loved ones.

I'm exhausted.  But we had a marvelous time this week.  

A little wild, a little cramped, a lot off-our-schedule...and a lot of just what Jesus says to juggle. 

It reminds me of a part in The Sound of Music (1965), when (strict) Captain Von Trapp says to Maria, (his children's governess/nanny):

Captain: Is it possible, or could I have just imagined? Have my children by any chance been climbing trees today?

Maria: Yes, Captain...

Captain: Do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but some old (play clothes made of) drapes?!

Maria: (affirming) Umm, hmm, and having a marvelous time.
~~~~~~~

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. (8) Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.  ~Ecclesastes 9:7-8

Sometimes it's great to throw off all that hinders us and to have a marvelous time.  Always taking care to honor God (Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil), but God never said that we had to serve Him tight-lipped and without cracking a smile.  There can be giggling, there will be bickering, and there will be marvelous adventures.

So if you are gearing up to host (or be hosted), get ready because it will probably be busy and messy and non-stop and chaotic and quite exhausting.

And wonderful.  ("Umm, hmm, and having a marvelous time.")

King Solomon (the supposed-wisest-man-to-ever-live) tells us that there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun (Ecclesiastes 8:15).

So, dig out the air mattress, bake a batch of Texas Sheet cake, and have a marvelous time with those you love.

Blessings,

Sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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