In the Great Scheme of Things

At the Milliner's (1878) - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I love this painting and the idea it conveys. The woman, though surrounded with colours and noise and movement, is calm and thoughtful, almost daydreaming.

I wish I was that woman, calm, peaceful and serene in the midst of a restless world.

My world is restless, and so is my life, most of the time. It seems like there's always more work to be done. It is so easy to let ourselves be carried away by our daily worries and go about life with our eyes closed, focused on the task and the here and now and losing sight of the greater scheme of things.

It is so tempting to trade the ultimate for the immediate.
It is so easy to just go with the flow.
It is so easy to let ourselves be overwhelmed

In the midst of this crazy life I hope to not get caught up in the daily details. As one of my teachers would say, I don't want to ''major in minor.''

It's really all about keeping the big picture in mind. We have but one life to live.

Somedays, the only thing that keeps me from falling into despair is this:

Commit your way to the Lord,
trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:7) 

I need to be reminded that I can trust God with my life, my schooling, my job, my hopes and aspirations. I can rest in the knowledge that my life is in his hands and that He will take care of me. I need not worry about a thing.

For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are His offspring'. (Acts 17:28)

When we are free from the world and the cares of this world, we are free to live for what life really is all about. No matter how valuable education is or finding a good job is important, education and work are not the ultimate reason we are on Earth for.

I don't want to spend my life 'majoring in minor things.' I want to be calm, peaceful and serene in the midst of a restless world, giving all I am and have for what truly is meaningful in the great scheme of things.