Do you ever wish you could go back in time and talk to your younger self? Someone asked me this recently, and it got me to thinking.

Back when I was a child, I didn’t really think much about the future or really what I wanted to be when I grew up. I lived for the moment. Having fun. Playing with neighbor kids. Life was much smaller back then.

But then I grew up and life became real. I tried out several jobs before I pursued my dream of writing and later became an author.

Through all the ups and downs, I confess I didn’t always ask God for direction as I should have. And when I look back, I can see that when I followed my own wishes, things didn’t go so well, but when I trusted God to guide me through whatever decision, I faced it might not have turned out the way I had planned, but it turned out for the best.

King Solomon was a wise man. The Book of Ecclesiastes was written toward the end of this wise king’s reign. I wonder if he wished he could go back in time and speak to his younger self?

Ecclesiastes talks about the futility of seeking happiness outside of God.

In the end, the Preacher as Solomon, refers to himself as, comes to accept that faith in God is the only way to find true happiness.

In Ecclesiastes 12: 10-14, Solomon writes:

The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

At the end of his life, Solomon advised his readers to focus on an eternal God instead of temporary pleasure.

He was a wise man. And although I’m not wise like Solomon, looking back at my life, I totally agree. Trusting God is the only way to find true happiness.

Many blessings,

Mary Alford

www.maryalford.net