the times of our lives

Life is a roller-coaster experience. Bad health follows good, wins follow losses. It doesn’t seem like you’re king of the hill very long before something knocks you off the snow pile. That can be frustrating because we don’t like the downs. We don’t see their purpose, and we resent the way they deflect us from the things we think are important.

As we reflect on 2018, we see the ups and downs. Some of us are frustrated by our government, while some are frustrated by those who resist it. Some of us are in a good position financially or professionally, while others took what feels like a step back this year. All of us have things we’re waiting for, and wondering why we have to wait.

It’s time for a different president, or at least administration. It’s past time to build at church. Or it’s a bad time to build, depending on your viewpoint. We’ve been waiting so long for healing, for a loved one to give up a self-destructive behavior, for a spouse to focus on us. When will the things we want happen?

There’s reassurance in the old wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, a reminder that God has a purpose in our waiting: 

“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.”

The times are in God’s hands; 2018 was, and 2019 will be too. Our promotions and sicknesses and new relationships and losses of loved ones are all in his hands, and they happen at just the right time. And for the faithful, they happen in a way that results in good for us.

This past year was a fresh demonstration of God’s perfect, loving providence. Next year will be full of the same. Won’t it be great to see what God has planned?