All's Well That Ends Well

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (ECCLESIASTES 7)

My wife once asked me, “Do you remember the story of the swimmer who gave up when she almost completed her swimming quest?” I remembered her first name but not her last name, but I found it on the internet for her, with this story:

“On August 8, 1950, at the age of 32, Florence Chadwick crossed the English Channel from France to England in 13 hours and 23 minutes, and two years later Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. For 15 hours Chadwick swam accompanied by small boats with her mother in it, but a thick fog made her doubt her ability as she told her mother she doubted she could make it. After another hour in the water she could not see the coastline due to the fog and asked to be pulled out. Later, as she sat in the boat, she found out she was just one mile away from her destination.”

Later Doris told me triumphantly after checking on the internet: “She successfully swam the Channel again twice later, setting a new women's record each time!”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Chadwick

Here are some quotes:

Finishing well

End on good terms.

All’s well that ends well.

Don’t start what you cannot finish.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith

(2 Tim 4:7)

Are you satisfied with what you have? What kind of ending are you expecting – poor, plain or pleasant? How do you prepare for a good or happy ending? What do you have to add or subtract midway to get to the good or happy ending?

Be Mourners and Ministers

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. 3 Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 5 It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools. 6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. 7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Doris’ nephew, her eldest sister’s son Joshua, had a choice and decision to make at Doris’ loss, to go for wedding in USA or fly all the way to Hong Kong for aunt Doris’ memorial service. His parents were already returned to Hong Kong at that time. He shared:

“So the wedding was some college friends from my college fellowship and it was in Alaska. I had already bought my plane tickets and planned some living arrangements with some people. But I felt that it was better to go to the memorial service and spend time with our family. And to support and encourage you and my mom and her sisters. I had to cancel my flight to Alaska. I got some of the money back but lost some of the change fee. I don't remember but i think a few hundred. I was encouraged to see all the support for our family and all the different people that she touched with her life. I also was blessed with seeing how the service was Christ centered and reminded us that we are not yet home. Hmm I helped to support the family and went in the hearse with Auntie Doris.”

Verses 1 and 2 are linked by the identical opening word - “better.” There is no greater good in any chapter of the Bible than chapter seven, which has 14 occurrences, and verse three has “good” in the verb form, making it 15. What is different from this “good/better” (v 1) than the rest of the book and Bible is that it begins a chapter and is the first word of a chapter in the Bible for the first time, a literary device common to Solomon’s writing repeated two other times in Proverbs (Prov 17:1, 19:1).

“Good”

V 1 name bests ointment Character bests Cream

V 2 the house of mourning bests the house of feasting Companionship bests Celebration

V 3 Sorrow bests laughter Compassion bests Cheerfulness

V 5 rebuke bests song Correction bests Chorus

You might be surprised to know there is more talk of “mourning” in this chapter (vv 2, 4) than the whole book of Job. It affects the heart (vv 2, 3, 4 twice). A good name is better than good ointment (v 1); ointment is for yourself, the name is from others. Ointment is cream, name is character; oil is replaceable, but a name remains. Attending a funeral is for the dead as well as the living; for comfort and caution (v 2) and closure. Not only it does it affect the heart but the face as well (v 3). It is the best gift to the heart – end of verse 2 is the proper verb, which is “give” the heart, which is mentioned four times (vv 2, 3, 4 twice). More than supporting others, it strengthens, deepens and balances the giver.