Spring Forward...Lessons about time

March 8, 2015.  Last night we set our clocks forward one hour and today we feel like we've "lost" an hour.  Of course, there are still the allotted 24 hours to our day, though our clocks make us think otherwise.  

What does scripture say about time?  We can learn a lot about time from the wisest man in the Old Testament, Solomon, in his writings in Ecclesiastes 3

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 don't know what your present circumstances and time hold, but what I do know is that we all have a finite time here on earth, "all come from dust, and to dust all return" (Eccl 3:20).  God "has made everything beautiful in its time" (v 11).  So whether you are facing hardship right now feeling like the weight of the world is against you and you're finding it difficult to face each new day, or you are on top of the world celebrating a victory, know this my sister, God knows what you are facing and He is right there with you ready to meet you where you are at.  

God shared with me at the beginning of this year that 2015 would be a year of change for me.  He didn't speak in specifics, but He made it clear that things were going to change in my world.  So right now, I find that my time is to give up things.  To go through my closets and get rid of and donate those clothes that I no longer wear.  To give up eating just because I'm bored and instead choose other activities like walking outside and reading my Bible.  I'm excited to see what God has in store for me this year and in the years to come, and I'm excited to see what He has in store for you too.

With spring comes warmer weather and the scenery around us starts to change.  The birds can be heard singing their songs to greet each new day.  Flowers that have been dormant under the cold, hard ground begin to peak above the surface in search of sun...and in doing so, bless us with so many wonderful and magnificent displays of color.  Caterpillars will start to turn into butterflies through the magnificent process of metamorphosis and farmers, both commercial and neighborhood alike, will prepare the soil and plant the seeds in anticipation of harvest.  

  

So maybe right now is your time to mourn, but very soon, it will be your time to dance.  Or perhaps, you've been experiencing the sting of relationships gone bad, and have been praying for healing.  It's a new season.  Embrace it! Open up wide the windows that have been kept shut for so long, and welcome in a new air...feel a warm breeze and let in the warm light that encourages not only the soul, but the body as well.  For "a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22).