A time for everything...

January 18, 2012

Good Morning, Readers!  The sun is shining brightly and all is right in my world.  I woke this morning to the sound of birds chirping (I filled their food dish last night) and a couple of dogren letting me know I had overslept (they like to be outside about 7 and it was 7:50).  I fed them, made myself a cup of hot tea, donned a blanket and walked outside to watch them play (and roll in the dirt!).  The steam from my mug rolled up into the air and warmed my hands.  I just knew it was going to be a great day!!  I am very anxious to get my patio furniture down here as well as the chiminea.  More living space!!

Instead of a song this morning (very unusual for me), I had Ecclesiastes 3 on my brain and I kept going over the wisdom told so long ago ... there is truly "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." 

I looked heavenward and said out loud, "Okay, what am I supposed to learn from this today?"  When things get planted in my mind or when I am awakened at night, there's usually something I am supposed to learn or someone to pray for.  I wondered where I was in the grand scheme of life.  I know I am reaching that time of life when days are more precious than weeks, months and years.

A time to plant & a time for blooming!

As a gardener, I love to plant and watch things grow.   A time to kill (kill those old tapes, resentments, anger!) and a time to heal (always ongoing) -- a time to tear down and a time to build (dismantle the house in North Texas and build a new life -- that made sense).  How about a time to weep and a time to laugh?  Well, there are times I think that I am cried out which leaves laughing.  Oh I love to laugh and have fun whether working, playing or just going about my day to day activities.  There are times when I've laughed so hard that my sides hurt, tears rolled down my face and I got a headache.



A time to walk & a time to run!

 A time to search and a time to give up?  It's difficult for me to give up when I set my mind on something.  Yet, I realize that in my quests, I probably should have thrown in the towel -- especially in the times when I was trying to convince someone else that "my" way was the right way.  Jesus doesn't do that.  He speaks through the Bible and others and lets us make up our own minds. 

There are times to mourn and times to dance.  You turned my mourning into dancing! (Psalm 30)  Goes back to a time to be born and a time to die ... the circle of life!   Scattering stones and gathering them?  We plant seeds into the lives of those around us AND there are times when we need to reflect and remember.  How about embracing?  Am I embracing life when I need to and resting when I need to?  A time to keep and a time to throw away?  Boy, that's a great one - As I said, I am dismantling a house!  Then, the more I thought about this, my mind was flooded with events, relationships,  thoughts, old tapes.  What should I keep?  My beliefs, my faith, my love for my family ... golly, the list went on and on.

When should I be quiet and when should I speak?  I am learning that unless I am asked for advice, it's best to just listen.  Yet ... I wonder, when I see something really off isn't it my responsibility to speak up?  There sure are a lot of facets to this one.  We all could fill in the blanks as appropriate.  I'm not surprised that love and hate are mentioned.  There should ALWAYS be love.  What comes to mind is that we are to LOVE the sinner but HATE the sin.  There are things that God hates so why shouldn't we??  Finally, a time for war and a time for peace.  That explains itself but also offers food for thought.

As I went through the verses, I realized that I was meditating on each word.  That is exactly what I was supposed to do!  I took a deep breath and marveled at the living word of God.  What was appropriate then is still appropriate now.  I felt such a deep peace inside me knowing that I was growing steadily in my faith ... yes, all things in their own time...

As I grow older, the days seem to grow shorter.  The words waiting in my mind and heart flow freely waiting to be put down in my blog.  I want to be transparent and to always walk in the light.  Did you know that we are only as healthy as the secrets we keep locked inside of us?

I declare this a sit down and talk with family day.  Talk about your past, your challenges, your loves, your hates.  Whether you're a parent or grandparent, you've been around the block a time or two.  You've had successes and, well, some not so successful successes.  (Think about that one!!)  Wisdom comes from living life and learning about how to "do it better."

Always know you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!!

PS: The time to tell your story is before you are in the grave!