Are You Chasing After the Wind?

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Wow, sounds pretty negative doesn’t it. Yet, many men and women who have lived long enough to reach that mythical status known as “the golden years” find out exactly what King Solomon meant in the above quote. All those years of striving to accumulate wealth, land and power now might seem a bit wasted. Regrets like “Why didn’t I go to more of my daughter’s soccer games?” or “Why didn’t I spend more time with my family?” rise up and begin to haunt us. Many of us wish we knew then what we know now.

Is it too late to do anything? Is there a way to wind back the clock? If you have been trying to reach back and correct past mistakes but keep ending up failing, consider what C.S. Lewis once said: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

Lewis makes sense to me, as one who has walked “the pathway of regrets” and ended up even more depressed.

So what can you do right now — starting today — to begin this turnaround?

Well, taking a page from my own life journey, meeting one’s spiritual needs first makes the most sense. Once you are back on solid ground spiritually, all the other parts of life begin to stop shaking. For me, making peace with a God who really loves me and is able to do amazing things gave me hope to move forward rather than dwell in the unchangeable past.

Stop chasing after the wind. Decide exactly what you regret and begin adjusting for what’s ahead. What can I do now? What has to wait? Be proactive and don’t wait for life to just happen.

Another important step toward finding fulfillment in your golden years is to stop being a loner. We need contact with other people. A church is a great place to begin. Try several churches before settling on one. Try praying before you visit each church. You may be amazed at what happens.

Finally, please don’t continue chasing after the wind, even if you think you have no other choice or not enough time to change course.

The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “There is only one kind of life that truly wins and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.” It’s what I call, chasing after the wind.