To Everything

 Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

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 from embracing,

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.

I admit it. I’m a tree hugger. Not one who might tie themselves to a tree to protest its removal, but one who admires and respects the amazing greenery God created. When a recent windstorm blew down so many trees in our area, my heart hurt. I hated to see the trunks on the ground, uprooted, and the branches turning brown.

On a walk this week, we trekked around the neighborhood. As we approached one of my favorite spots, a large weeping willow had been cut down. From the remnants left behind, it appeared the tree had been rotting. Regardless, I mourned a little. 

The trees reminded me things change. Life carries days of joy and days of mourning, days of sorrow and days of laughter, and days of silence and days of speaking. Life drags me through ups and downs, but because I carry Jesus in my heart and he carries me, I have hope. He is my joy and peace.

Seek Jesus.