The Christmas season is over and a new year is upon us. Last year ended with joy and the new year began with sadness. The last Saturday in December had me holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers to celebrate a joyful wedding feast between my sister and her husband. The first Saturday in January had me holding a single rose as we said goodbye to my grandfather who is now at eternal rest. This is life, isn’t it? Full of seasons; one that brings joy and another that brings sadness, one that brings chaos and another that brings rest and still another one full of laughter and the other full of tears.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
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,
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: 1-8 (New International Version)
This verse is such a comfort during the difficult seasons. These seasons should be expected and we have a creator who never fails to be our comfort. No one will pass through this life without experiencing the good with the bad, the sweet with the bitter, the happiness with the sorrow. But there is joy in the extension of comfort from our Heavenly Father. I think about the extreme emotions that I faced in a week’s time and I can’t help but smile at the tangible presence of God in each situation. One of extreme joy that gives us a glimpse of the wedding feast between Christ and His bride, the church, and another that reminds us of God’s mercy over this life and the next life when we call on the name of Jesus.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 (New International Version)
