To everything there is a time

There is a right time for everything: A time to be born; A time to die; A time to plant; A time to harvest; A time to kill; A time to heal; A time to destroy; A time to rebuild; A time to cry; A time to laugh; A time to grieve; A time to dance; A time for scattering stones; A time for gathering stones; A time to hug; A time not to hug; A time to find; A time to lose; A time for keeping; A time for throwing away;  A time to tear; A time to repair; A time to be quiet; A time to speak up; A time for loving; A time for hating; A time for war; A time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 TLB)

In hindsight I can see how some years are different than others - going through them may be like riding a roller coaster of sorts, but when the year is over, I can look back and observe there were subtle differences in those months that passed. Zora Neale Hurston puts it this way: "There are years that ask questions and years than answer." You might find yourself in the year that asks more questions than are being answered right now. You might find you came out of one that seems to have all the questions posed in the last year being answered in the present. Either way, the years all have meaning or potential. 

What we find posed in the form of questions in one season of our lives can be the launching spot for some of the most meaningful answers at another. It is a mystery me how God does that, but he remains faithful to bring the changes in "season", not out of it! There is a time...no one can tell God when that time may be...but there is a time. There is a season...reliant upon his graces and goodness...but in that cycle, we find increase at times - at others a little lessening of the load.

Is it your time to plant this year? You know that the planting isn't going to yield an immediate harvest, but without the planting, there is no harvest. Have you come out of a season of tearing down and now you are entering one of rebuilding? The devastation left behind when the 'tearing down' occurred might make one think there is no hope or help in rebuilding, but rest assured - God provides both! Perhaps this is your season to find what has been lost, or draw closer to what you have come close to losing. 

The time to be quiet - the time to speak up - each plays an important part in any relationship. Learning which season you might be in is critical to maintaining the harmony of the relationship, but if it is the season to speak up, to hold back may stunt the growth of the next season! The time to love and find peace is good - we embrace both with open arms. The times that produce discord and unrest are harder and we want to push them away quickly. One does not exist without the other - one brings the tearing down - the other brings the building up!

I don't know the season you are in - maybe the one that is posing all the questions, or perhaps the one that seems to be revealing the long awaited answers. Either way - embrace it. Walk in it. This is a season designed for your growth - even if it seems like one that is just about to 'do you in'! Just sayin!

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