The Time….
I was thinking on Ecclesiastes chapter 3 this week. There is a time for everything, for every purpose under heaven (v.1). There is the time we are born and the time we die, a time we grieve and a time we celebrate.
People remember the day and events surrounding both our birth and our death. All mommies remember how long they labored, events surrounding the start of labor and the water breaking, and the moment we were born. Daddies remember what it was like to hold us for the first time. Our death is remembered as well, while it is ultimately a journey we make alone with Jesus, the people we leave behind remember the day we leave them, and events surrounding that day. A birth is celebrated, a death grieved.
What really matters is the” dash” between our birth and our death. What matters are the millions upon millions of moments that are our life. Time spent with others, the times we gave and the times we received, the times we cried and the times we danced. The times we smiled, the times we feared and the times we triumphed. Every moment of our life is precious, and every one matters, every moment has a purpose. It is what makes us who we are.
Today I will join friends as we celebrate the life of Ayden. Ayden went to be with Jesus April 25th, a day I am certain none of us will forget. His family celebrated the day he was born, those of us who shared in his life along with his family grieved the day he passed, and grieve still. A time to be born and a time to die.
But Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 4 says something very profound : “ There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance (celebrate).” What? This gripped me this week as I looked to forward to seeing people I consider more than friends but family. Shouldn’t we still just be crying and sad? Is this not the time for grief? Then I had my “ah ha!” moment. What we celebrate, what we remember is the moments that made Ayden the boy he was. A life lived is worth celebrating. Might we cry? Yes. Might we grieve some today and continue to do so as the days go on? Yes. But through all that is the time we will laugh, the time we will remember and celebrate.
Birth is celebrated. Death of a loved one will always be sad, and will always be grieved. What we need to remember, and maybe forget in the midst of our sadness, is the life lived between the two events. And that is worth celebrating, dancing and laughing over.
There is a time for everything, so take that time. Grieve, but celebrate. Both have equal purpose. Wise, wise words from King Solomon.
musingsbymindy 