Time for Everything

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
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,

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 NIV]

One of the most beautiful and often quoted passages from Old Testament scripture is found in the book of Ecclesiastes. Many consider the man of wisdom, Solomon, to be the author of this book. Obviously, this could be debated further by theologians who dispute his authorship. My intentions here are to simply reflect upon the words of beauty quoted above.

As I began to consider a subject for today's blog, a couple of other topics came to me prior to settling on these verses and this topic. A number of years ago, I received a Christmas gift from the youth group at one of the churches I served as pastor. A beautiful piece of art, it included the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 under a common heading assigned to these verses, "A Time for Everything". Little did I know that less than two years later I would, in turn, give the plaque to the parents of one of the youth who gave the plaque to me as a Christmas gift. She had been killed in a car accident during the fall of her senior year in high school.

While we are almost all aware of the fact that the things spoken about by the writer of Ecclesiastes are a part of human life, some of those events are beyond our control and timing. It saddens me to think that three of the young women who were friends with my older daughter, Amy, during her school years were killed suddenly in tragic accidents. Two of the young women had actually been babysitters for our children when they were younger. All three of them had spent the night at our house with Amy at least once. Two were killed in auto accidents and the other died in a boating accident while her family was on vacation. For none of them did it seem like it "should have been" their time to die.

There is a saying that "life goes on" and it does. That is not meant to sound calloused in any way but to express the truth. After the weeping and mourning, there is meant to be laughing and dancing. Pages and volumes could be written about the words of the passage above. It would be safe to say that there already have been pages and volumes written. So much could be said and written about the words' application to life in 2009. Wars, economic downturn, foreclosure, homelessness, downsizing, spring planting, pruning, cutting down, laughter and mourning are among the many activities still taking place each and every day as the world spins round and people live their lives.

Just a couple of days ago, I learned that someone I once knew very well had died over one year ago. Of course, finding out after the fact may not have the same impact it would have earlier. Still, there is a certain level of grief and sadness, followed by reminiscing about past experiences. I remember discovering that I liked asparagus while having dinner at their house, playing cards and drinking coffee, singing in a quartet with him and a couple of other individuals from the church, as well as occasionally joining him and some of the other morning coffee drinkers at the local cafe. As it turns out, I have discovered that no less than 28 other individuals from that one community, whom I either served as pastor or knew as acquaintances have died in the nearly twelve years since I lived there.

What this should mean for those of us who are still living is that each of needs to consider the "time" that we are given each day and make the most of it. While we continue to be about our daily activities, throwing things away, mending what we can, building, healing, embracing one another or choosing stoicism, there is "a time to live". Remember the young mother from an earlier posting who chose to teach her child "how to live" by teaching him "how to die." She knew that "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." May each of us find that same insight for our own lives.

~ DB Turnmire