Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.

Read

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRSV)

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace

Reflect

There Is A Season

“To everything (turn, turn, turn), There is a season (turn, turn, turn), And a time to every purpose, under heaven…” That’s the beginning of the Pete Seeger song written in the 1950s and made famous by the folk-rock group, the Byrds in 1965. Seeger’s lyrics come directly from these eight verses of Ecclesiastes (King James Version), with only two other lines included: “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and “a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.” He wrote the song as call for peace in the world.

It’s interesting that the emphasis of these words changes depending upon one’s life situation. When a young couple is just starting out, they are living into the “time to be born.” Or, when an adult child is dealing with a parent who is struggling with dementia, weeping and mourning become the emotion of the moment. Life is a rollercoaster of emotions, and the reality is, there are so many things over which we have no control. Time rolls on.

These words remind us that throughout life, we will face the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow, but through it all, we are to do one thing: stand in awe before God. God is the creator of time. God sets the rhythm of reality–the time to mourn, the time to dance, the time to gather in and the time to let go. Our responsibility is to discern what time it really is. That is what differentiates the foolish from the wise.

Pray

God, we can be blind to what is really going on around us. Help us to let go when it is time. Help us to build up when it is time. Help us to stand in awe of you, and seek to hear you as you lead through this rollercoaster ride we call life. Amen.

Go with God!