Chasing After the Wind
Backyard
Throughout the day, yesterday, every hour or so, I went outside and shoveled the snow. I did a thorough job each time, clearing the driveway, a path to the front door and the 100 foot sidewalk across the front. I think passersby felt sorry for me. One neighbor even offered to use his all-terrain vehicle to plow my driveway, which he did later on, and still, this morning, it looks like nothing had been done.
In fact, the sidewalk was buried under a mound of wet snow and muck left by the village DPW which has been working around the clock to keep the streets clear. At one point, during one of my shoveling episodes, the plow came by. I think the guy may have thought I was wasting my time. He knew we were working at cross purposes, and if it came down to a battle between us, he would surely win. With one sweep closer to the curb, he could undo an hour of hard labor, and he did, again and again.
One could argue that my efforts were futile, pointless.
If I don't have a chance of succeeding, should I give up?
I love the Book of Ecclesiastes, because it addresses the futility of life in a way that is both comic and dramatic.
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever. - Eccl. 1:3-4
There have been many times in my life when I have asked myself that question about one thing or another. What is to be gained in this endeavor or that? My favorite expression in Ecclesiastes is "chasing after the wind."
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. - Eccl. 2:11
While I was out in the cold wind yesterday, I felt I was accomplishing something. For a while, I was able to sweep the snow away with a broom. It was light and powdery. The task was not difficult because I tackled it early. I was determined to do my best to clear as much of the snow as I could, knowing it would continue to accumulate. I will be back, I thought as I finished. If I stay with it throughout the day, I will have less to do tomorrow.
That's the way I have always approached my work, my job, my life. A little at a time, and eventually, it gets done.
But the day became evening and I rested. It continued to snow through the night, and the snow piled up, without me. If I had stuck with it. If I had gone out there every hour through the night, what would I be facing this morning? The task before me now is daunting. I may not be able to do it alone. I may need to borrow a machine or call a plowing service.
By plodding along, doing the same thing over and over again throughout the day, trying to stay ahead of the inevitable onslaught, the same work could be viewed as meaningful and productive, or meaningless and futile. There is a lesson here, isn't there?
Maybe it is chasing after the wind, but doesn't that sound like it might be fun?
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? - Eccl. 2:24-25