Ecclesiastes 3:11

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” ESV

I asked my son, Jet, what this verse means, and he responded that he likes the Berean Study Bible’s translation, which reads:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.”

I think I like that as well.

I was in a resident’s room and I asked if I might flip her calendar over to July as it was the second of the month already. She was grateful that I would do that for her and when we saw the picture for July we were both awestruck. It was a magnificent canyon with a gorgeous waterfall. She asked where it was located. I told her it was Palouse Falls in the state of Washington. I never would have thought that a canyon of that size would have been in Washington. In fact, I really don’t know anything about that state at all. There is much I don’t know about my own country. So…my Bucket List just got a little bigger.

When I think about all the remarkable places in this country alone that I haven’t seen or even heard of, I want to get in my car and go! In a lifetime I would never be able to travel every back road to see its many wonders and hidden secrets. There are so many! I think about the change of seasons, too, and the cycles of life, and I am thankful that our days are not all the same. All I can say is that God is the supreme designer. He didn’t have to create such beauty but He did. He did it for our pleasure. And I, for one, would like to see as much of it as I can.

We cannot fathom even the simplest thoughts of God. We cannot fathom the eternity that He has set in our hearts, or all that He has done, is doing, and will do for us. Our simple minds cannot grasp the depth and completeness of our Creator. We look at the night sky filled with the moon and glistening stars and we ooooo and ahhhh over it’s vastness. But really…all we grasp is what we can see. There is so much more than what is visible to our eye. Just like eternity. There is much more to eternity than what we can comprehend.

Today, as I sit on the deck of this beautiful Airbnb, gazing below to farmland surrounded by woods, and feeling as though I’m sitting in the middle of a bird sanctuary, I praise God for all this beauty before me. I am excited about the diversity of this land. And I thank God for the promise of eternity even though I do not truly understand it. But I do know that back in the beginning, when God created everything from nothing, at the completion of each stage, He admired His handiwork, and said it was good. So I have no doubt that when we enter into eternity with Him, it will be good.

Rejoice. Be glad in your heart. Be grateful for the depth and love of God. ♥️

Andi

Photos: 1) an impressive sunrise at home; 2) Palouse Falls, WA, copyright: Joseph E. Becker of Seldom Seen Photography, 2015; 3) another gorgeous view, http://www.tripadvisor.com; 4) scenic, early morning view at my Airbnb, July 4, 2020; 5) me, loving my favorite season, Shades State Park, October, 2016