all is vanity
a convo worth sharing .. 
One afternoon, I was offered by a friend for a ride going home. While driving , he started the conversation with this exact words : "their biggest mistake is that they rely on promises made by man ; instead they should hold on to the promises of God who is capable of blessing us. We should trust and pray to God only" , this he uttered while referring to a failed negotiation for one of the biggest project between a client and a boss during the time that the company was financially challenged.
I was astonished whilst I was listening to him because it is the first time i have heard him speak about God; he was not a Christian after all. From that conversation, I could sense that God was trying to speak to me through him.
As he continues, he shared to me his life when he was still working in Saudi. He was in a top position and earning well. Being a family man, he would work hard to earn money . Working for years without taking vacation and seeing his family only via Skype, staying late in the office , skipping meals, etc.
This was his routine for years and he succeeded in earning himself and his family a good future.. nice and comfortable house, savings, cars, furniture, and all material things that you could dream of.
After years of drudging and saving enough , he finally decided to return to his home country to be with his family.
After years of being home, he was able to put up a business; life was up and doing very well; not until they learned that he has cancer, and worst , his only daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She was 3 years old then.
Listening to him, I was drowning with so much emotions ; seeing my face, he told me, it was not the worst part yet Helen, it wasn't.
He continued... months passed, we are battling with cancer and leukemia, before reaching home, people were running, rushing towards different directions, yelling and screaming like crazy, authorities shouting at people to hide and secure themselves; then they heard a very loud noise... it was a bomb attacked! Several bombs exploded .
They had the greatest shock of their lives as soon as they got home; nope, not inside their home, in front of the remnants of their house and their car. Yes, their house was bombed and it was all ashes when they reached their place.
All his revelations brought me back to the story of JOB, his trials and his anguish .
Fast forwarding the story, he lost everything, but not his family. He suffered emotionally and financially for years. He prayed, he persevered, begged for help and was able to get a good job in UAE. Now he is here with his family, his cancer cured, his daughter's leukemia healed.
His conclusion was " I have been through a lot, it was like hell with all the trials that I had; but one thing I learned, all material things does not matter. IT DOES NOT MATTER!! I worked a lot , compromised my health for money and good things, but with one bomb, I lost everything. Everything including my health!
I prayed and God healed us, only God was there when nobody was. I lost everything but not God.
Now, I am working, not to build big house, but only for a good shelter, not for the future, but i am living for the present time. I told God, everything is own by Him, if I die, i would not worry of my family, God will give somebody to take care of them; if He would take my daughter, then so be it, we belong to God, after all, we will all go to Him. If he will take everything from me, I am not afraid, it is God who take, it is also Him who give. "
Before I get off, I thanked him for trusting me with his story.. a story that once reminded me , that everything is vanity..
*Ecclesiastes 1:1-4
1 the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity. 3 what profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? 4 one generation passeth away and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever.