The Shift . . .

To everything there is a season, 
A time for every purpose under heaven: 

A time to be born, 
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck 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 cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
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 of war,
And a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The air is cool in Texas today. And though the heat will return, it has ushered in those first hints of fall. The promise of cooler days after a long, hot, dry summer. The shifting of seasons has begun.

As each season ends, and a new one begins, I always find myself ready. Even in my part of Texas, where our longest season is summer and the lines between seasons are blurred, I’m still ready for the changes that come . . . however subtle they may be.

It’s not only the change in temperature . . . the shortening or lengthening of the days . . . the different holidays . . . that each season brings. It’s the reminder that nothing is permanent. That no matter where we are today, nothing is forever. And while there are seasons, good seasons, that we wish would last indefinitely. It’s in the differing seasons, the ebb and flow, the ups and downs that stretch and challenge us, that we grow.

For so many, this year has been hard. There is no other word for it but hard. It has brought trials and grief, loss and heartache, and on some days those hits just seem to keep coming. It seems as if it will never end. But if we take a moment to read these words from Ecclesiastes 3, words penned thousands of years ago yet so seemingly relevant to our current times, we realize that as long as the world has turned, there have been both seasons of horrible devastation and seasons of indescribable beauty, often running, not end to end or back to back but simultaneously. It’s one of the greatest contradictions and gifts we’re given in this life, the fact that we can experience immense grief and huge joy concurrently.

This season will end, and with it a new season will enter, and the cycle will continue until our lives on this earth are over. But the one thing we can count on, the one constant and steady in the midst of all the shifting seasons, in both the beautiful and the heartbreaking, is God. He never changes. He’s never unreliable. He promises in Deuteronomy 31:6 that “He will never leave you nor forsake you”. He loved us, He loves us, enough that He sent His son as the eternal sacrifice for our sins, and He sent the Holy Spirit to both comfort and guide us. And in a world that is often uncertain and ever changing, that is what we can count on. That is what we can press into no matter what season we are in.

Copyright 2020, Courtney G Davis, All Rights Reserved 

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