I’ve been wanting to tell you the story of a little girl, a sweet little friend of my daughter. A little girl who suffered in the way that no one should suffer let alone a child. Cancer; the Doctors tried, nurses cared and friends prayed but still she suffered. Every complication that could happen happened, every side effect that could show up showed up. But yet, even in the midst of it, she was very brave, she was a fighter, tough and smart and she got better…for a while, then she went through it again and again and then…she let go and God took her. Georgia, a sweet little fighter who gave more than she ever got…her presence in this life was a sweet vapor that couldn’t be taken hold of, but her aroma has been branded into the hearts of those who knew her, her family, her friends, me and even you…now that I’ve told you.
Have you ever read the words that life is meaningless? The words originate from a phrase in the bible “Everything is meaningless” Ecclesiastes, this book actually mentions the word ‘meaningless’ some 38 times.
But the actual Hebrew word that is translated as ‘meaningless’ is Hevel. Hevel means more “like smoke or a vapor or a breath of air blown out” you cannot take hold of it…there is nothing you can do to grab it or save it or keep it safe or even keep it at all. And it definitely has meaning… it is sweet, it moves, it gets in your eyes, it can be warm or maybe feel cold, it can have aroma, it can be silent, even invisible, it can be harsh, it can be a gentle breeze…it is not meaningless, it is felt, savored, taken in ...remembered.
All life is Hevel…how beautiful is that. All of our experiences, the friends we meet, the loves we share, the hands we hold, the hearts we’ve gained…the friends we’ve lost, the loves who left, the hands that let go; sweet vapors, spirals of smoke and long breaths out, all to be remembered and savored, all meaningful…all Hevel.
We don’t know why God gives us these experiences or brings these people into our lives for a long or for such a short little while…but they are gifts. Each one.
Life happens and for each of us our life is filled with gifts…gifts that cannot be held on to but loved, even though lost or broken or up in smoke they are not meaningless, they are something.
All life is Hevel…I love that.
