Redefining "The Good Things" in Life

"I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the "good things" in life. But I found that this, too, was meaningless." Ecclesiastes 2: 1-2 NLT

There comes a time in all of our lives when we are searching. Most of us search for meaning and the significance of life. Others search for happiness, acceptance, pleasure, wealth, or fame. 

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, even searched. He decided to try the pleasures of the world, but found that they came up short.

My cousin Timmy died this past weekend. He was one year older than me, almost to the day. My birthday is December 11th, he and his twin sister were born on the 13th. He was a Veteran, he liked the beach, enjoyed his dogs, his motorcycle and living in the country. His death, at such a young age is upsetting for me.

Timmy & his children

I want to redefine "The Good things" in life for you. My heart is saying that the good things in life can't be bought. They aren't at the bottom of a bottle, top of a high, or filled with adrenaline. It's not in comfort things either, like food, sex, or shopping.

The good things in life, to me, mirror the gifts of the Spirit. They include LOVE, JOY, and PEACE. 

Those are things you cannot buy. And they are certainly better for you than any other forms of pleasure.

Am I saying we shouldn't have pleasure and enjoy life. ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I am a lover of life! I enjoy laughing and having fun. The good things in life, in my opinion come from God. The biggest one, LOVE, comes straight from Him, and then He puts people in your life to love you.

As my mom and I were living the funeral home last night, my cousin Tina, Timmy's twin, said, "You know he loved y'all." I said, "I loved him too." and I teared up. Because it was the truth.

Timmy came to my house one weekend last fall. We hung out, went to an event together and he went to church with me. I wish we would have done that more often. I have regrets. I feel like I should have done more. I was praying for him daily... but that just doesn't seem like enough.

Please hear my heart. Striving in life for that next big whatever, or for perfection will only leave you empty. On the flip side of that, numbing your pain doesn't help either. True happiness comes from JOY. You can have JOY even in the midst of tragedy.

I pray for comfort for Timmy's two children. His son has been taking his death so hard. Even though it sounds crazy, you can still find JOY during a time like this. Thankfully we have memories and pictures. One of the pictures they chose for the video at the funeral home was Timmy as a little boy sitting in my Grandaddy's lap. I loved seeing that. My Grandaddy passed away in 1992. That brought back good memories for me though. 

Timmy sent me this picture of us when we were little. Tina is pushing me on the swing, I'm up closest to the camera, and he's on the see saw part of the swing set. We were so young. Since I'm an only child, my cousins were like siblings to me at times. Cousins are your first friends, too. I am going to miss Timmy. 

Please pray for his children and sister during this time. And think long and hard about your life. The good things you've been chasing might not really be  good after all.

God bless you today and always.

Timmy, Tina, and Me