“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens;
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace. “
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
This is one of my Grandmother’s favorite verses, and she references it so often. To her, life is all about different seasons, and the season that she has been living for the past 13 or so years finally ended with the passing of my Granddaddy last week. Although the ailments of her sick husband would often change, her outlook would always stay the same. She would say, “This is just the season of life I am in, and when this one is over I will start a new season.” It would always somewhat shock me that she could be so positive about her situation, but that is just the kind of woman she is. She is an angel.
As my time to start the world race was approaching, it got me thinking all about the season of life that I was about to enter into, and God reminded me of this verse and rewrote it for me and my situation. To be honest, this was written before Christmas. My vision for this blog was to be about the holiday season of giving and how that was going to carry over into the New Year for me and not end when the gift giving was over, but for some reason I couldn’t post it. I tried but God said no, and I didn’t understand why- until now.
After my Granddaddy passed, God brought the verse back up to me and said that now was the time. I was fortunate enough to be able to go home to be with my family for a little bit and take a break from the world race, but now that I am back I am reminded of what this season of my life is all about.
This is how the Lord rewrote Ecclesiastes for me.
There will be a time;
A time for us to die to ourselves and to be born again in Christ,
A time to leave everything behind and plant the seed for Christ to sow in His people,
A time to stop the schemes of the enemy and let God create new life,
A time to tear down the barriers that surround us and to build the kingdom of God,
A time to weep for His hurting children and to share in the joy of those who have witnessed His goodness,
A time to mourn for the lost and broken and a time to celebrate with those who have been found in Him,
A time to go out to spread the Gospel to the lost and a time to come together as a community of believers,
A time to let go of the ways of the world and hold tight to the ways of God,
A time to give up what we thought we knew and to search for the truth only found in Christ,
A time to throw away our distractions and keep the Lord close to our hearts,
A time to be torn apart so the Lord can restore the foundation of Christ in us,
A time to rest in the quiet stillness with God and a time to proclaim His name,
A time to hate the sins of man and a time to shower him with the unconditional love of the Father,
A time to battle the forces of the enemy and one day live in the serenity of our Father’s house.
The beauty of this rewritten verse is that it’s not just for me or for the ones on the World Race. This is a message for everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ. This is our mission. We all have these responsibilities and we all have these pleasures. It is a difficult task at times, but take heart, because we are promised eternity with him once all the hard work is done.
Things get tough, but remember that is only a season. Seasons end and new ones begin. Trust in the Lord, and rejoice in Him in both the good and the bad, because each season of life is preparing you for the next. Don’t try to rush through a season, but take it as it is. Find the beauty in each one because it is there, and always remember that the Lord is good. Always.
