How is your Spring going? Do you get allergies at this time of year? What’s your favorite season of the year and why? I know that geography has a lot to do with how we experience the seasons of the year, such that some regions have the traditional four seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Other regions can have more like two seasons, hot and less hot or dry and rainy.
In addition to these annual seasons we can experience, our lives also have seasons. It’s interesting to think about that upon reading Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
In reading these verses, there are several things of interest to note. To begin, there are a total of twenty-eight seasons or times that Solomon identifies. Additionally, each of these times has a counterpart, or opposite, such that the time to plant is countered by the time to uproot. When we think about this, we need to keep both perspective and agility in our souls because, truly, life is about change and adaptation. When we think that something is permanent, then it can be difficult to adjust when the “permanent” changes. Indeed, Winter can tell us to hunker down and hibernate, but Summer invites us to appreciate sunshine and being outside.
Solomon’s words also give us some sobering insights in relation to the importance of things we possibly don’t like, in contrast to stuff we do like. So while we might easily gravitate toward dancing, laughing, embracing, building, peace and love, Solomon tells us that the counterpoints to each of these wonderful things are equally valid seasons and times. There will be times in our lives when it’s the season to dance, but there will also be times when it’s the season to mourn. Peace has a season, as does war; keeping and throwing away are seasons as much as giving birth and dying. This is helpful to remember when we’re in a yucky season, but let’s also keep this in mind when we’re in a pleasant season.
For now, we can hopefully enjoy the blossoms and flowers of Spring, reveling in the sunshine and warmer temperatures. At the same time, let’s keep gratitude and agility in our souls, no matter the season in which we find ourselves, because life is all about seasons!
