Nothing to Report

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

A few evenings a week, I go for a drive. No traffic lights. No place to be. Maybe an Allsup’s for a drink, maybe Dollar General for nothing in particular. Some nights there’s music. Some nights it’s quiet. Most evenings I pray.

Thirty minutes in, the guilt shows up: You should be doing something productive.

I used to tell myself the drives were good for my headspace. They are. But I was defending them.

Ecclesiastes cuts right through that. The Teacher admits we can't see the full scope of God's work from start to finish anyway, so he drags us back to what's right in front of us: eat, drink, work, enjoy. A gift from God. Nothing to prove. Nothing to extract.

I've spent years turning rest into preparation for more work. Even an evening off becomes valuable mainly because of what it might produce tomorrow. I don't owe God a timesheet for an hour on the road. Some drives clear your head. Other nights you burn gas down Highway 380 and pull back into the driveway with nothing to show for it.

Nothing to report. Just received.

Father, let an ordinary hour be a gift. Help me leave it at that.