Life seems to ebb and flow like waves on the ocean. Change is a constant in our world. Today you may be young and single living alone and going to school. Tomorrow you are middle-aged, married, and working 40 hours a week. Today you may be standing up at your best friend's wedding. Tomorrow you are mourning with family as you say "Goodbye" to a loved one.
Life can drag on for years or come at us in a second. The Dire Straits "Walk of Life" is unpredictable yet there is no escaping it. We can look back to the "Summer of '69," but ultimately we must "Turn the Page" and move forward.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens"
Like chapters in a John Grisham book or like quarters in a basketball game, we all live in a particular season of life. One season will meld into another and then another. A time for everything and a season for every activity. Solomon writes about a time to plant, heal, laugh, dance, embrace, and love. He also says there are times to tear down, weep, mourn, give up, tear, and hate.
It is human nature to think the "grass is greener" on the other side of the fence, but your "grass" will be just as "green" if you just "plant" yourself in it today. The past is gone and will soon be forgotten. Additionally, you can not change the past, so let it rest. Have hope for the future, but don't let your mind linger on it for too long. The future will always be there, but the present is fleeting and seeks our undivided attention now.
Solomon continues:
"He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time."
Whatever season you are in right now, embrace it. Enjoy it. God made it beautiful. The good seasons and the bad ones. Of course, you will immediately say, "How can pain, sickness, or even death be beautiful?" That's a fair question. It comes down to recognizing that seasons are connected. They don't come usually like the slamming of a door, but rather like a sunrise. Slow and steady unfolding before us.
In the movie Shadowlands, a 1993 British biographical drama film about the relationship between academic C. S. Lewis and Jewish American poet Joy Davidman, there is a poignant line that goes something like this: "The pain you feel now is part of the joy then." In other words, the future joy is only as joyous in relation to the depth of the pain felt today. Or think of it this way. Without the rain, there isn't a rainbow. And again, the oyster has to have an irritating grain of sand to create a pearl. The "beautiful" bad times usher in the good times.
Finally, Solomon says:
"...there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each one of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil-this is the gift of God."
Live today in your season to the fullest. Enjoy it now because it will not last. You will soon be in another season complete with all its joys and pains. Don't long to return or advance. Make the best of your current season and God will gift you with satisfaction and contentment.
