hope

Seasons of Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Steve and Annie Chapman wrote and sang a song about seasons over 30 years ago.  If you’ve never heard the song, “Seasons of Life”, you should take a few minutes to listen to it today. The song compares the stages of life to the seasons of the year.

“Spring” represents youth when most people are healthy, energetic, and playful; but the young so quickly change to “summer”, and have new interests and responsibilities; then comes “fall”, the time when most people are busy with work and raising their families; lastly comes “winter”, a time of growing old, reminding me of what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7:

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

The days ahead  for someone in this season of life are usually fewer than the days behind. They have lots of memories, but their bodies begin to slow down and wear out. Although I am young in spirit and quite healthy, I am in the early stages of this season. However, I still have such peace, joy, and hope, because as the last line of that beautiful song says, “We’ll see Spring again in heaven, and it will last forever, forever, forever!” What does Spring remind you of? Flowers like daffodils?  New life, like the birth of a baby? Cherry blossoms? Or the Resurrection?

Encouragement While You Wait

What comes to your mind when I mention waiting? For me, I think of the many times in my life when I had no choice but to wait. For example, as a child I would get so excited waiting for a holiday (like Christmas morning, thinking that it would never come), or waiting for a special event coming up (like our Thanksgiving family reunion). I would keep checking the calendar, or when I was very young, I would keep asking my mother how many more days I would have to wait.

Of course, there are so many things that we must wait for in life. We must wait to get over an illness, for the healing of a broken bone, for the healing of a relationship, for a wayward child to come home, and for the birth of a baby.

School children often wait for summer vacation, but then, others can’t wait for the new school year to begin. Some people have a hard time waiting for their high school or college graduation, so they can get a job or get married.

There are many, many times that we must wait whether we like it or not: while standing in line to pay for something, while on hold on the phone, while in a traffic jam, while at the doctor’s or dentist’s office, and while at the airport. We also wait for winter to end, for a pay check,  for something we ordered to arrive in the mail, for the release of a new book or movie, and many young people eagerly await the day when they can get their license to drive.

It’s also worth mentioning all the times we should have waited, but didn’t, and some of the difficult situations and consequences that result from not waiting. Perhaps you ended up in an abusive marriage or an ugly divorce, because you were in too big of a hurry to get married. Or, because you didn’t keep yourself pure before marriage, you ended up alone and pregnant, and had to quit school and go to work to support a child. We can see there are many reasons that we must or should wait patiently in life.

The following are some Scriptures to encourage you while you wait:

  • Psalm 40:1-I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
  • Psalm 27:14- Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
  • Psalm 37:7-Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him
  • Isaiah 40:31-But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
  • Isaiah 49:23-thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
  • Proverbs 20:22-Do not say, “I will [a]recompense evil”;
    Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
  • Romans 8:19, 23- For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
  • Hebrews 9:28-To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

My favorite word in the Spanish language is “esperanza”. This word has two different meanings. One is “hope” and the other one is “to wait for”. It was so interesting to me when I learned the meaning of this word, because it reminds me of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Because of this hope, we are not only waiting for His return, but we can also wait on Him to answer our prayers as we pour out our hearts to Him.