Ecclesiastes  

3 There is a time for everything and a season 

    for every activity under the heavens:

2 

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

3 

    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 

    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 

    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 

    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 

    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 

    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

These are my sentiments of the weekend.  

Read verse 4 again:  

4 

    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

I spent Friday night and the majority of my day Saturday being with my best girl as she prepared for her youngest daughter's wedding. 

It was joyous.  

It was funny.

It was a celebration.

My husband performed the ceremony, so he was engaged in the preacher thing that he does.

As things were winding down, my girl stood outside the reception going over what else she needed me to do and sharing our girl giggles that we share when my husband approaches and says that he has to go to the hospital.

It was just the three of us standing there so he told us that an older male friend of ours had just died.  It was sudden and completely unexpected.  We both asked him if he was serious.

Here we were in the peels of laughter and here comes a story that no one wants to hear - ever.

The flow of life is cycles.

Cycles give us time to reflect, renew and repair.

We both shed tears that we quickly brought under control so as to not alert the bride and groom.  We prayed together.  Then we worked.  (Probably one of the greatest reasons that we are so close - work is our release.)

There is a time to cry and a time to laugh.

My heart breaks for the surviving family of our friend especially his son; while at the same time rejoices in the beginning journey of the newly weds.

Thank you, Jesus.  While we experience sorrow, you can still bring joy.  Thank you for that vivid experience.  Please be with this family as they begin a journey that is long and hard.  Draw each one to lean on you.  Amen.

How about you?  Has God every put something in your path that just made you utter, "Thank you, Jesus!"

Forgot Again!

Ok, I fill in occasionally in children's church for the teacher.  Lately it's been every other weekend, but we got catty wompus with the recent holidays.  So this was a week I was to teach and forgot.  Grrrrr to me for not using that dull pencil and relying on that sharp memory.

Well, I'm drawing on recent meditations and praying and praying and praying.

Esther keeps coming to my mind.  My kids will love it.  I tell the story with animation as we climb into our time machine and travel backward to tell the story.  I do so love to make them smile as I bring bible stories to life.  You should hear them all say "don-kay"!  

Who can think of Esther and not think "for such a time as this."?

I wasted a lot of time and energy wishing that I were someone else, some where else on some other time line.  I dreamed I was Scarlett in Gone With the Wind - I was suited for civil war times.

Finally in my 30s, a sunday school teacher taught a lesson about that very subject, but from other scripture.  God didn't put us in pioneer days or victorian days or civil war days; He put us in this day.  

That was profoundly eye opening for me, but then again I am a little slow on the up-take sometimes.  How I wish that someone along the way would have given me that gentle nudge earlier.

Now spending the rest of the night in prayer.  

My Lord and God, Humble me to present Your word to young and tender souls.  Open ears and hearts to receive what you would have them learn.  Amen.