30 Days of Gratitude: Day 15

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A Time For Everything

So much is going on around us. We never know what someone is dealing with behind closed doors. We do not know the skeletons in everyone's closet. We live in a world where it is easy to speak about the things we think we know without knowing all the facts. We can hide behind a keyboard and spew hatred because we aren't face-to-face with someone. We can let the world around us lead us into an understanding that may not be based on fact but on rhetoric that entices us. We forget that people around us may not be going through the same season in life that we are. Another female my age (36) may not be in the same spot I am. In fact, I have friends my age expecting a child, friends my age raising a family, friends my age starting new hobbies and new career goals, and friends my age mourning a life they thought they would have at this point, but it wasn't in the cards.

This brings me to a scripture from Ecclesiastes. This particular set of scripture is quoted at funerals, but should be remembered more frequently in our day-to-day living.

"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

The poetry in this group of verses reminds us that, even as we love the beauty in our lives, we will inevitably face darkness. How we choose to look at it defines how we will process and learn from it. There will be good things in life; however, we cannot escape or avoid the bad stuff. The list of good and bad things shows us the importance of not taking a day for granted. We are to take advantage of each day, understanding we do not know what tomorrow brings. A scholar by the name of John Trapp once wrote, “Many a man loseth his soul, as Saul did his kingdom, by not discerning his time. Esau came too late; so did the foolish virgins. If the gale of grace be over-past, the gate shut, the drawbridge taken up, there is no possibility of entrance."

Monday's are often a struggle for many. It is hard to get up and face a new week after a couple of days off. Monday comes with unknowns and struggles. Instead of leaning into the weary unknown, allow it to fuel an opportunity for a new beginning. Your season may change today, it may change tomorrow! Face the day with a different attitude, and remember that the darkness will not stay. "And it came to pass..."