It was lovely, during a brief break in the weather, to walk by the sea this weekend. To gaze across the waves to the horizon beyond is always somehow therapeutic, though quite what thoughts go through our heads tend to depend on how calm or stormy it is. In my case, the wind had whipped up impressive breakers that crashed upon the shore, hurling pebbles up a steep bank before sucking them down again. The following reflective prayer, taking the form of an imagined conversation with God, taken from my book Are You Listening?, was inspired by a similar scene, using it as a springboard to explore a question we all sometimes find ourselves asking about life: what’s the point of it all?
Lord, I stood by the sea today
Introduction
One of the things we all need in life is a sense of purpose, a goal to aim for. We may not always attain this, but if we can get even close then we feel the effort has been worth it. But there are times when we feel that, far from being close, we are simply going round in circles and getting nowhere. A sudden setback, an unexpected obstacle, and it can seem we are back to square one, battling against insurmountable odds. Normally, once we get over our initial disappointment, we have the resilience to bounce back, but occasionally our sense of frustration is so intense that we feel like giving up altogether, abandoning our hopes once and for all. Yet it is then, more than ever, that we need the courage to persevere, pressing on despite everything which stands in our way, to turn our dreams into reality.
Read
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun. A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains for ever. All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. Ecclesiastes 1:2-4, 8-9, 12-14 (NRSV)
Reflect
Lord, I stood by the sea today,
and I watched the waves rolling across the water,
crashing against the rocks,
breaking upon the shore;
day after day the same –
the tide coming in, going out,
in a never-ending cycle,
a constant battle between land and sea.
And it felt to me that my life is like that,
so much movement,
so much effort,
but achieving what?
I’ve tried my best, Lord,
struggling for so long to achieve something,
but where has it got me?
I wonder sometimes,
for I’m the same person I always was,
facing the same obstacles,
dreaming the same dreams
and fighting the same battles.
It’s hard, Lord, to keep on going,
to find the energy and enthusiasm to try again
when all my efforts have been in vain –
another day at the office,
another hundred miles on the clock,
another ream of paper,
and still I’ve barely scratched the surface.
It was different once,
when I was young,
idealism then refusing to be denied,
hope springing eternal;
but now, when I stop to measure all I’ve done,
I see one step forward and another back,
an endless road to nowhere.
My child,
I hear what you’re saying,
and I understand,
for I feel it myself sometimes,
even me.
It is hard when all your efforts are frustrated,
when you give everything and it comes to nothing;
and there will be moments
when you feel like giving up,
your time seeming wasted and your work in vain.
But it’s then most of all that you need to keep striving,
to battle on against the odds,
for though you may not see it,
results are there –
imperceptible perhaps,
unrecognised,
but little by little taking shape,
slowly coming to fruition.
Take heart, my child,
and keep going,
for so often it’s when you least expect it,
and where you last might think to look,
that dawn breaks and daylight comes.