Scripture (It's only verse 1, but I wanted to add all the verses): Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 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, 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.
(Listen to the Byrd's Turn, Turn, Turn as it incorporates all verses into an awesome song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9_H9AWwQOs.)
That scripture is a huge chunk to take a bite out of! But if you read it again, it's saying there is a time for everything we do, feel, and go through. It was written down and prepared for us to read thousands of years before we came into our existence today.
"We cannot be and do all things for everyone all the time - there are indeed seasons." How many times have you tried to be a people pleaser...doing what someone asks when they ask even though it's outside your range or want? I know I'm guilty of it. My husband, Josh, is also very guilty of it. He's a big people pleaser and it causes him grief sometimes. I think we all fall into this trap on occassion.
The author of the devotional talks about taking her kids to visit their father and how it "would cause me physical pain to part from them. I felt like I had an unending ache, an emptiness, a lake of equilibrium. The only way to get over it was prayer and the passage of time." For those of you who know Josh and I, you know that we are foster parents. The hardest part of being a foster parent is taking your kiddos to a visit with the bioparents when you don't trust them or like their decisions in life. (This kinda ties in with yesterday's lesson to not judge...which is super hard when you have great kids who have a potentially great parent if they'd make better choices!) It used to physically pain me to leave the kiddos at the visit, especially our little man, London. He would cry pathetically for me and put his arms out to me and he still does. It still hurts to leave him, but not as much.
I just keep thinking to myself when I leave him, "In 2 hours, I'll be the hero. I'll come sweep him up into my arms and make him laugh for joy." And, sure enough, that what I do. I'm his mommy...not biologically, but at 16 months, I'm his mommy and that's who he wants.
"The only possible way to love and let go gracefully is to first have enough faith to remember that God is utimately in charge of our children and only He can really keep them safe." This is big for me. There are so many scenarios that can occur at visits, things the kiddos are told, things the bios tell us, so much negativity. It's hard for me to remember that God has these little kids on HIS tracker and has had them there since before Josh and I came into the picture. How many times have you sent your kiddos (or someone you loved) off and thought that they wouldn't be okay because you're not there to see to them?
I remember my mom having a cow when I was deciding on which DeVry to attend. I thought it would be awesome to go to Phoenix, but mom was not going to have that since I didn't know anyone and I'd be so far away. She was concerned for my safety and concerned that I wouldn't have anyone to lean on that far away. She preferred that I attend DeVry in Kansas City because I had family 3 hours away in Iowa. In the end, to satisfy her worry, I moved to KC. I guess God knew what he was doing because I met Josh on the first Sunday out here!
"We need to know tha tlove is not limited to time and space, and our love does not start or stop; it flows continuously whether we are with our childeren (loved one) or not." It's amazing to think of agape love...that ever-present, no strings attached, love of loves that just flows down. It's what we all dream of. A love that loves us no matter what we look like, how we act, what we eat, where we live, our nationality, our color, our creed, who we're related to, how much money we have, how smart we are, etc. Just plain and simple, truly and perfectly love. The kind of love we are all wanting defies all restraints the world puts on it. It is transcendant, and omnipitant...it's everywhere. That's what our love can be when we act on our love instead of mulling it to death.
"We need to trust God that He has ordained our separations as well as our togetherness." It's funny how God works things out. Josh and I were discussing the visit the kids had today and our version of the pros and cons. I hadn't read my devotional yet, but when I cracked it open and read, I was amazed. He puts it all out in the open with us if we care to see it. Do you care to see yours?
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
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,
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.
There is so much time and so little time. How will you spend yours?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment