By Lynna Clark
From the book of Ecclesiastes come these beautiful words:
“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 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.”
The writer, King Solomon, son of David goes on to say this. “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. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”
As you know, currently I am in a season of grief. Having lost my beloved David to cancer this summer, I couldn’t imagine ever dancing again. However. I’ve been trying to walk outside around the house in an effort to build up my strength. Yesterday when I finished and came back in to rest, I felt something crawling on my neck. A stink bug was tangled in my hair but just loose enough to explore the outer reaches of its new home. Turns out, it was a time to dance. Darlin’ this granny can move! Even in my dotage, I was able to get back out the door and shake him from my fuzzy head. I’m just glad I didn’t fall and break a hip. Dang stink bug. Apparently one can experience several seasons at once.
I like Solomon’s conclusion. Let’s be intentional to enjoy the life the Lord has blessed us with while we can. It’s full of wonderful joys and as David and I learned rather quickly; it can be gone in an instant. Let’s love while we can, and dance every chance we get.
