Eternally

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was
taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed —
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors —
and they have no comforter.
And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.
But better than both
is he who has not yet been,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NIV)

God, you are our Lord as we
toil in this your world, through the
good, the bad, the ugly, the glorious.
You are our Lord who welcomes us to
the great family reunion in the sky
or some alternative site you have for Heaven,
a place our forebears – and we – could not
imagine.
You are Lord of those yet to be,
those who exist only as a figment of your imagination
before they take on a life we can comprehend.
You are our comforter in each stage and age.
When we are oppressed and cannot see,
we can stop and feel your presence,
your love,
your fatherly support.

Thank you, God, for being
God who is, God who was,
and God who will be
and for loving your children of all time.

Taken from A TIME FOR VERSE - POETIC PONDERINGS ON ECCLESIASTES.