Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, we all need to behave wisely. The word solace - or comfort - is found or described in Your Word, several times in chapters 10 through 12 of Ecclesiastes. It's a word that's meant to bring comfort and relief; sharing a few examples: Quoting from verse 1 of chapter 10: "Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor. Herein lies wisdom for dear ones, would they but listen, "It is a wonderful thing to be alive! If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer ... everything down here is futile in comparison."

Chapter 10:9: "Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do all you want to; ... but realize that you must account to God for everything you do ... ."

Chapter 12: "Don't let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor Him in your youth ... . it will be too late then to try to remember Him, when the sun and light and moon and stars are dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among your clouds. For there will come a time when your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will become weak ... And you will waken at dawn with the first note of the birds; but you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, ... a white-haired, withered old man, dragging himself along, ... standing at death's door.... God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad."

The unconditional answerability of man is to obey God. We thank You, Lord, for each new day You give to us so that we might practice solace in preparation of Your return for us.

Love, Mara.