Ecclesiastes 3 and 4 is our Coffee Break Bible study focus this week. Ecclesiastes 3 has the famous passage about there being a "time for everything." The author reminds us that there is a time for birth, a time for death. A time for war. A time for peace. A time for crying. A time for laughing. He lists several other things that remind us of the seasonal, and cyclical nature of life.

Lately I've been learning about God's seasonal design. We're transitioning into fall here, one of my favorite seasons. But there will be things I miss about summer, too. I'm trying to embrace the seasons and the weather as they come. I notice so much negativity in our world--it's so easy to complain about so many things. Instead, it is more relaxing to enjoy a rainy day instead of wishing for sun. To celebrate my son's transition into adulthood instead of sadly wondering where the time went. To realize that activities we did regularly in past years may make way for new activities now. To accept changes in friendships and embrace the deepening ones I currently have and welcome the new ones I'm getting.

There's a time to speak up. A time to shut up. A time to eat. A time to refrain. A time to work. A time to play. How do you know when to do what? I think that abiding in Christ, relating with Him daily, helps us with that. We can develop a system, a task list, goals and desires, but He is the one that leads our day. If we can hang onto those things loosely, and realize that today, in His plan, it may be a time for _________rather than ___________, we can walk in the joy of surprises He has in store for us and the ministry tasks HE has in mind for today, that may or may not correspond well with our to-do list.

The day I wrote this, God did have a surprise for me. I had plans to go to the Y after work and before a class. Instead, He made me aware of a person who needed a visit, so I spent time with her instead. I knew that is where He wanted me at that time. It wasn't what I expected to be doing that afternoon, but it was what I was SUPPOSED to be doing.

A key thought then? Be sure to leave TIME in your day and your life...so you can ride the cycles and seasons without them upending your emotions, and especially so you can listen to the Spirit. Print This