Seasons

A couple of days ago i received news from a close friend that her mom had passed away on Christmas Day. We knew she was terminally ill, but no one thought it would all come to an end on such a day. This fact took me back for a moment, and at first i didn’t know how to respond.

This has been a difficult week for many. Last night another friend sent a text message asking prayer for a co-worker who’s in a coma after a warehouse accident. A life left hanging by a thread. Just days ago he had celebrated Christmas completely oblivious to what the next days would bring. 

A day that should be full of joy suddenly became a day of grief, a day that many celebrated others mourned, and the day a person died another was born.

Joy and grief, life and death, the beginning and end are things we can’t escape. At that moment i thought it strange that life (as we know it) doesn’t last forever. Neither does joy, celebration or laughter. There comes a time to shed a tear, a time for the heart to ache, even as the world around us celebrates.

Seasons of our life can change suddenly. A bright sky becomes dark, a peaceful day becomes a storm, yet all these seasons will pass. The sky will clear and the storm will subside. And for those enjoying the bright sky and peaceful day, this too will pass. Ecclesiastics echos so well the seasons of our lives...

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.
                                                                             Ecclesiastics 3:1-8

Tomorrow’s New Years Eve. For some it is a time of celebration, for many it will be a time for reflection. A time to reflect on the pain, the loss, the difficulties and struggles they have endured this year. It’s also a time for hope, a time to look forward to a new season, a time to trust each of our seasons to The Child who’s birthday we celebrated just a few days ago.

I pray This Child, The Prince of Peace would guard our hearts and paths though all the seasons we encounter in the coming year.
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