A season for everything

I had just walked in the door after a lovely coffee visit with a friend.  Kids and Bible talk, along with fabulous pastries on a lovely spring morning.  Just what I needed after a rough couple of days.  I dropped my bag in the kitchen and glanced outside and noticed our trees.

Trees.  The amazing color of what I call spring green.  You know, that fresh, bright green of leaves that are starting to burst forth with the sunshine and warmer days. I scanned the yard and was struck by the various stages of the trees.

My eyes were drawn to the river birch tree.  We had just picked up under it the other day, and it was still fairly naked.  But today it is suddenly alive with leaves! It's the tree to the left, behind the grasses that need to be cut. Look how full it is!


But just up the hill is a maple. The maple has yet to gather its spring glory. My glance then darted to the dogwood that is spectacular with its white flowers.  I was thinking how pretty it would have been to have the white dogwood, the flowering cherry tree and the red bud all in their peak at the same time.  What a vision that would have been!

The reality is different. I get to enjoy the dogwood today. The red buds were regal in their purple splendor for a few weeks. And my flowering cherry was a fleeting blast of pink before that.

So why did this capture my heart today? After all, they are common visions. Trees. Where we live. Where we drive. Where we play.

God used today's trees to remind me of his timing.  We bloom in his timing, not our own or the timing that someone else thinks we should have.

By God's wonderful grace we keep watering and nurturing those around us.  God has a wonderful plan for their lives, even though we wish we could see it in bloom now.  His timing. We keep feeding our mind and soul with the word of the Lord, for we don't know how much he is planning for us to grow and spread our love and teaching to others. His timing.

The flowerless cherry behind the redbud

The world is filled with plants that bloom at different times of the year and in different conditions, just as each of us has our time of blooming for the Lord.

Let us not forget that the buds and flowers aren't the end game - they are the beginning of a new season that will end with a time of quiet growth so that the trees can bloom again.

It's an incredible cycle that God has created. Let us pray for the humility to trust his timing, the obedience to create conditions that will help people bloom even when we feel hopeless, and the joy of his peace in all circumstances.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 New International Version (NIV)

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

   a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
   a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
   a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
   a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
   a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
  a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
  a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 English Standard Version (ESV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Should I or shouldn't I have?

It was a letter.  Words on paper.  Signed by families who love the Lord.

But it had sweeping, strong repercussions.  See, this letter asked the church to consider standing for God's truth.  The purpose was to bring to the forefront an issue that was divisive and hard, with generations of families who saw this as a challenge to their status quo.


Months later, the letter is still stirring up hearts and making people examine their hearts and their beliefs about Jesus, the authority of scripture and how to best be a church that proclaims to be rooted in the gospel.  Many feeling have been hurt by unkind words. Others are hurt by truth that can heal, but they see only the pain. Actions that were brought in love, for Christ Jesus and for each other, are perceived to be power plays.  Instead of talking to the "instigators," those with questions talk behind them.

It is with all of this on my mind that I flipped my Bible to Esther and started a Bible study on virtues, with prudence being the first one of the four we will examine.  The Time Warp Wife was starting an online study, and I was drawn to it. (Love her beautiful study pages, by the way!)


When she bravely approached her husband the king with her presence, Queen Esther was offered up to half of his kingdom twice, and she declined both times.  Esther did not get distracted from her purpose, which was to save her people.  She didn't run scared at the potential loss of her life by going to the king as an uninvited audience.  She didn't balk at the task and take fabulous wealth instead of posing the humble, yet audacious request to save God's people.  Esther stayed focused and did the job at hand.



Mordecai, Esther's cousin who raised her, alerted her to the scheme to kill God's people. He said to her, " For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NIV


How many of us are in our current positions for such a time as this? We are to be a light, a city on a hill. We must speak truth in love, for that is our purpose. To save people from certain death and bring them into the loving arms of Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer. We bear our cross and risk everything - comfort, status quo, friendships - when God calls us to a time as this.


With fasting and prayer, we move prudently yet boldly as we trust that nothing we hold on to is more valuable that the one who holds us.

Refresher needed

I'd look outside and feel distressed. The cushions on the deck furniture were faded, and I hadn't replaced them last year. Each morning their faded presence greeted me.

Should we buy new furniture, or would replacing the cushions suffice? The furniture has given us many years of service, but the faux wicker was starting to fray in a few places. And goodness, cushions aren't cheap!

So this debate went on, and nothing changed. My indecision was a decision for faded glory. This Easter came around and I was joyful. Just joyful, I tell ya, 'cause Jesus is risen! The whole weekend was a party in my heart. My joy carried onto the deck, and I ordered new cushions. We determined that we can get a few more years out of the furniture. That whole being a good steward is tricky - need v want. Need v. really a need. Ever feel  that tension?

My cushions arrived and I have no more faded joy! It's a small thing. Really a thing that doesn't feed anyone or tell of Jesus. But I relate this to faded joy in Jesus. Life comes along and takes away the brilliance of his power and glory. I must be intentional and make decisions to keep my joy in him beautiful and fresh, unfaded by the storms of life. 

Ta da!

So now I can smile at the fresh color on the deck that will soon be even a more colorful retreat when flowers bloom and family and friends are seated with me. And I smile at my reminder to intentionally focus on His love that never fades!