To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,

 and a time to pluck up that which 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, King James Version

 

For Everything, There Is a Season

 

            In Kathy’s story the names have been changed.

            Excitement filled me as I connected the seat belt for my first much-anticipated trip to Europe.  After the takeoff, and the initial enthusiasm subsided, a sense of wrongness gnawed at me. I’m doing something fun while Josie is struggling.

 Josie and I had been friends since elementary school. Always fun, she knew what she wanted and grabbed at life. Plagued by constant problems, I lived mostly in her shadow.

            After college, Josie’s hopes and dreams seemed to fall effortlessly in her lap. First there was a job and then marriage with money and the large houses following. Success would have described my friend.  My situation had not gotten any easier as I seemed to mainly turn in circles, confused.

            The one good decision I made was to learn all I could about my problems and how to move forward. Prayer, the scriptures, self-help books, and counseling became my lifelines, but at times, they paled in comparison with what Josie had.

            Learning what needed to be done and how to make better decisions, brought about positive experiences for me and Josie’s and my lives began to equal out. They weren’t the same, but both good.

            The years flew by, and our friendship continued, though we didn’t see each other often. One day when we met for lunch, I was shocked to see that my usually vivacious friend looked pail and drawn. Admitting to fatigue she said she and her husband were scaling back their many commitments. In my heart, I knew it was more serious. Three weeks later the diagnosis and prognosis were not good.

            As I flew out to Europe for a fun and exciting adventure, Josie was preparing to spend the weekend with her children, knowing it would probably be her last.

            Thought:  Kathy’s story is a reminder that life changes and nothing remains the same. We are now in a season dominated by COVID, losses, fear for the future, as well as fear of the present. Many are filled with questions such as how do I proceed? What’s going to happen? Will my family and/or I survive?

Though I suspect Kathy felt a lot of fear and anger as she struggled to make sense of her own life, I remind you she didn’t just hope for the best or leave it up to chance. Instead, she learned all she could in those hard times and armed herself with prayer and seeking help for the future. If you were to meet her today, you wouldn’t know that many of her years were dominated by struggle.  

For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New American Standard Bible)     




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Therefore, encourage one another, and build up one another--- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NASB)               The following story was a featured archive story on the Internet and shows how these children, by not putting themselves first, brought joy to all.: Ubuntu—I Am Because We Are:             An anthropologist put a basket of fruit under a tree and told the children the first to reach the tree could have the basket. The signal was given, but there was no race. The children joined hands and walked to the tree together. When he asked why they did that when one of them could have had all of the contents their answer, in somewhat disbelief to the question, was How can we be happy, when the rest are miserable. Tew, R. (2015, June 3).  Ubuntu story . Live Life Happy.  https://livelifehappy.com/ stories/an-anthropologist- proposed-a-game-to-the-kids- in...
Read more
Image
  The Power of a Small Gesture     John 6:1-16 is the story of the feeding of the 5000. With a boy’s gift of five barley loaves and two fish, and the blessing of Jesus, 5000 people ate with food left over. Jesus therefore took the loaves and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated, likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. And when they were filled, He said to His disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost. And so they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. (New American Standard Bible)               Anne Sullivan known as the Miracle Worker who worked wonders with Helen Keller experienced poverty and cruelty as a child. The writings from the Helen Keller Society talk about two defining experiences in this extraordinary woman’s life. At eight years of age,...
Read more
Image
  When Shouts of Ho, Ho, Ho and Merry Christmas Make You Feel Sad   Have the well wishes of the holidays, the music, and twinkling lights ever made you want to close your eyes and hold your ears? It’s easier, and more socially acceptable to paste a smile on your face while wishing for a sabbatical from life with the ability to return when the holidays are over. I’m not being cynical or sacrilegious, but the reality is that problems can make this time of year difficult. What to do? First, I urge those whose hearts are hurting to realize you’re not alone and to be kind to yourself.             We may need our own space and a break:   Years ago, I was asked to play for a wedding for a couple I had never met. All I knew was that the mother of the bride was flying in and the father was attending with his wife. The night of the rehearsal, the bride’s mother hung out with me. My suspicion was she used this time and spa...
Read more