A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

We recently moved our clocks forward an hour; the arrival of the Spring Equinox. I know that there are a lot of people who are complaining about losing an hour of sleep, but me, I’m rejoicing. I love this time of the year! It probably has a little bit to do with the fact that I was born on the first day of Spring. But when I see the trees leafing out, the grass turning green and the flowers blooming after a long, cold winter, I feel myself come alive. The days getting longer means that I can stay outside longer. I don’t know about you, but being cooped up inside just makes me feel like a caged bird. Remember when we were kids and we were sent outside to play, we didn’t have to go home until the street lights came on. What a wonderful time to grow up.

Now my time is spent mowing, trimming and watering flowers, but in the midst of all that work I also make time to take in the beauty of God’s creations that surround me. Living in the country I am blessed each Spring with the arrival of all creatures great and small. Even though they can be a menace, watching baby raccoons play just makes you laugh. I’ve had a Momma fox bring her babies across the yard, I had coyote pups playing in the side yard. I was even surprised one morning to find a bobcat hiding from a hawk on my patio. Though I have not seen it, others have; but I have heard the panther scream in the night, quite eerie to hear. And a mountain lion has been spotted wandering the valley. In late Spring the deer bring out their little spotted fawns. Their Moms know that our yard is a safe place to graze and get a drink of water. They will even lay down and take a nap under the trees. And because I live close to Shoal Creek I am treated to the majesty of watching an eagle soar above our property from time to time.

Do you stop and take the time to see the world around you or are you too busy working all the time to enjoy the gift that God has given us. I knew someone who worked 16-18 hour days and I saw it wearing on him. During a conversation I told him that he needed to take the time to stop and smell the roses, because one day he was going to look up from his work and see that life had passed him by. Sadly, not long after that conversation he started having health issues and was forced to retire from the job he loved so much.

I think that there are many of us who get so caught up in our work, our busy schedules and activities that we neglect to see what’s right before us. Maybe this isn’t your season, it’s not for everyone. It’s the first of June, another season is fast approaching maybe that one is yours. Everyone and everything has it’s own season. And so I’m going to end today with a reading from the Bible.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-12
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.

We never know when our lives could change so don’t forget to take the time to stop and smell the roses.