For Everything There is a Season

I have always loved Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything:

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

This chapter of the Bible has an incredible story in my family. My Grandfather read this chapter the night that he passed away from a heart attack at the tender age of 59 I believe. Hours later, his grand-daughter (my cousin) was born. She was given the middle name "Happy-Dawn" in remembrance of my grandfather and everything that happened that night.

I am guilty of not 'living in the moment' all the time. It's something that i've become aware of and really tried to work at. I know that sometimes I begrudge the 'season' of my life, raising my three kids, changing diapers, dealing with tantrums etc. I often wish I had more free time and was able to do more things that I enjoy. The problem is, this is the season of life that I am in, and if I spend my life wishing for the next stage, I'm missing out on this one.

Here is a segment of "On Being a Mom" by Anna Quindlen that I read recently on another blog:

"But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less"

Oh how that speaks to me. Someday soon (and I know that time flies even faster the older I get), I will look at pictures of my kids at the age they are now and wish I could go back. I will try to recall every detail of the moments I spent with them. I know that all too soon, my kids won't be begging me to read them another story, or hug and kiss them one more time before I leave the room, or run to me telling me how much they missed me when I've only been gone for 2 hours to an appointment.

So please, for your kids, your Grandkids, yourself; treasure every moment. Enjoy the season that you are in. Don't look back with regret, or look forward with longing for a time that has yet to come. Recognize that there is a season for everything. Live in the moment, whatever that moment is. Allow yourself to experience it fully (whether it's exhilaration and joy, or grief or anger). There is a time for every event under heaven.

I love the verses following the ones I quoted above as well. "God has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded that there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can" (Ecc. 3:11-12). Yes, Solomon was blessed with wisdom and we can learn a lot from him.

Mel