The Seasons of Our Lives

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“For everything…turn, turn, turn…there is a season…turn, turn, turn…
And a time for every matter under heaven.”

Okay, I admit it. I heard this profound spiritual truth first on the radio in about 1966 as the popular group the Byrds sang those words. In retrospect, they were probably the first Bible verses I could recite since I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. Little did I know the significance of these words would increase with each passing year. Read them now and embrace the memories of the seasons you have endured:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NRSV

When I first heard those words, I reflected about college, career, love, marriage and having babies. I didn’t want to consider the flip side unless absolutely necessary. It was so much easier to daydream about the thrilling opportunities my future held. However, in that same year, we were entrenched in a controversial war in Viet Nam. So, it was natural to relate to the words “a time for war, and a time for peace”. We wondered how many more young men would die before the time for peace would come.

These were some of my thoughts during that era when another popular song called our generation “The Age of Aquarius”. I wanted to “let the sun shine in”, but what I really needed in my “hippie” years was to let the “Son” shine in my life. That would come much later. Once the Byrds’ song faded off the charts, I never gave the words to “Turn, Turn, Turn” another thought until years later.

Time flew by. My grandmother died as my first daughter was born. I experienced a challenging divorce and later met the man of my dreams. Rebellious children and successful careers filled the weeks and months. One memorable year was scared with marital infidelity. Fortunately it was followed by complete restoration. It was a time that challenged my faith and strengthened my identity. I was learning by personal experience that there truly is a time for every matter under heaven. But, it wasn’t until I hit my forties that I grasped how fleeting time was. The days we spend on this earth are like a speck of sand in the ocean of eternity.

At 51 years, 8 months old as of this writing, I have already lived a whopping 18,870 days. That’s 455,520 hours of eating, sleeping, blow drying, laughing, crying, resting, striving, worshipping and loving. Wow. I wonder how many more I have left.

I heard a story about a man that figured out a creative way to remind himself each week about the value of his life. After years of putting work and accomplishments ahead of family and God, he decided it was time to get his priorities in order. He realized that he had spent one Saturday too many on things that just didn’t matter. One day, he sat down and did a little arithmetic. Since on average most folks live to about 75, he figured that he had been allotted 3,900 Saturdays in his lifetime and he was going to live the rest to the max! Since he was 55 when he did this math, he figured he had about 1,000 of them left to enjoy.

So, he went to a local toy store and bought up every marble they had. In fact, he ended up visiting three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. He took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday, he would take one out and throw it away. He found that by watching the marbles diminish, he could focus better on the more important aspects of his life. He said, “There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth running out to help get your priorities straight.” When I heard the story, he had just taken the last marble out of the container. He figured if he could make it until the next Saturday, he was given a little “bonus” time. I’ve already used up 2,704 of my Saturdays. I think I’ll start paying closer attention to my “marbles’.

A season of contentment and surrender
Thirty-eight years have passed since I first heard “Turn, Turn. Turn”. Today as I reread the verses above, I understand more profoundly the sweet and bitter realities of their meaning. I find it challenging some days to balance the harsh actualities of life with the eternal hope we have knowing the blessings God has stored up for us in heaven for those who know Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

My personal prayer for this season of my life is to have a heart of contentment and an attitude of surrender at all times. I wish that I could say in all sincerity with the apostle Paul that “I have learned to be content n whatever circumstance I am.” (Philippians 4:11) I can say I am “learning” present tense, but I cannot say I have “learned”. Yet, even as I write these words to you my sister, I know that He is doing a good work in us. Together we are learning to embrace all He has given us as we pass the baton to those who will carry on. I want to say with Paul not only that I have learned to be content, but also that “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. That is the ultimate perspective I wish to achieve before I die. How about you?

Perhaps, I am sounding a bit maudlin. Forgive me if that is true. But, these days I am compelled to ponder the more significant aspects of life. I’d rather do it now and make timely changes, than regret on my death bed that I had frittered away my most influential years. Ladies, how will you spend this very precious season of your life? Will you squander it away with busyness and nonsense? Will you waste your energy stressing about your less than perfect bodies or your unfulfilled dreams? Instead, let’s invest each moment we can in things that will matter for eternity. Let’s live joyfully and passionately each and every day we have been gifted.

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