"For everything there is a season"

Do you ever read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8? This passage always brings me comfort, especially when I am not appreciating the hard times of life. In the case that you have not read it, I would like to share it with you.

“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 cast 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 cast 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.”

The reason why I love this passage so much is that it reminds me again that God is in complete control. The verse says that all of those happen UNDER Heaven.

I know that we always want to have fun or to be happy or to be the best. Let’s face it, though. Sometimes, we have to be sad, we have to cry, and we have to feel lost or lonely. If we never experienced these, how could we ever appreciate the good times of happiness, friendship, and ease? If we never had hard times, times when we couldn’t rely on our own knowledge and strength, how would we ever learn to rely on God completely?

Today, I challenge you with one thought that God has placed in my heart:

Life is only ugly when we refuse to accept that it is beautiful.