A Season for Everything

By Alexandra Anderson, August 2019

‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…’ Ecclesiastes 3:1.

‘There is a season for everything’ and if we don’t understand or refuse to accept the ‘season’ we are in we risk being out of step with God’s ordained rhythms in our life.

I live in a part of Swansea near the University and in term time my neighbourhood is full of students. It always amuses me to see them making their way across campus in the pouring rain on their way to lectures wearing shorts and flip-flops in November, trying to look cool and pretend it is still Summer.
At times life can seem futile, an endless cycle of meaningless events. Eventually, everything comes to an end and we are left dissatisfied and disillusioned in this often frustrating world. But, what we need to do is not be like the students wearing flip-flops in November trying to pretend that our lives are eternally Summer, but learn to trust God, be discerning and prepare.

Thankfully, in time God will make everything beautiful (v11). Until we see it as he sees it, we have to trust him in faith. We often spend our time looking back with regret, or looking forward to the future, and miss the present. In v 12 and 13 we are encouraged to take the time to enjoy people, be happy, and make memories. This is God’s gift to us.

When my children were young I used to take them to the Leisure Centre in my town. The kids loved the water slides and they could spend hours going up and down on them. Sometimes I would watch as people lined up to go down the slides. Some when they reached the top would stand there a long time paralysed by fear. Others would hold onto the sides to try and control their speed, which of course was useless. Still others would try and stop half way down which was even more pointless because somebody else would come hurtling down behind them and send them flying. The wise few would just lean back, throw their hands in the air, and just go with it. Those were my kids! Children know their season of life and enjoy what they have in the present moment. That is the point Ecclesiastes 3 is trying to make, nudging us toward a child-like faith in God.