a time to dance....I haven't forgotten my July 10th intention to study the proper time phrase. "...let us not grow weary of doing good...in due season we WILL reap, IF we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). I believe that God alone knows the due season. The proper time is secure and sure in His wisdom and known only to Him.
But there are two prerequisites to reaping in this verse - and both of them are required of me--not growing weary and not giving up. Verses before this one speak of sowing. That's ACTION. Activity of the mind and activity of the body. Activity carried out untiringly and consistently.
Due seasons and proper times involve seemingly contradictory activities - and one seems negative and difficult; the other positive and rewarding. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."
Birth and deathPlanting and plucking up what is planted.
Killing and healing.
Breaking down and building up.
Weeping and laughing.
Mourning and dancing.
Scattering and gathering.
Embracing, and refraining from embracing.
Seeking and losing.
Keeping and throwing away.
Tearing and mending.
Keeping silent and speaking.
Loving and hating.
War and peace.
I just wrote a whole long comment on how it's easy for me to accept the 'seasons' quote but not so easy for me to be joyful about them at times. But then I thought I should just post it on my blog sometime and not take up room here.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought-provoking post for me, Rebecca.
Thanks Rebecca. As you know I'm a farmers wife and very dependant upon seasons!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit this passage isn't one I've studied, or paid much attention to. You've made me think....and that's always a good thing!
Very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteAs you perhaps know, I'm a firm believer in due times and proper seasons. Knowing it's true and actually following through with trust and belief is difficult at times.
ReplyDeleteDonna, your second sentence is where the "rub" is! Eileen, I'll write some more to you (I'm gathering my thoughts), but Donna has captured it in a nutshell. That's what trust/faith IS. And faith and trust is not "easy". By definition they mean "not leaning on your own understanding" but in all ways acknowledging Him..."Leaning on my own understanding" produces holes in my spirit through which the joy drains out! (There's that old preposition at the end of a sentence.)
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to be back and reading your blog posts. It is much to think about when you miss as many days as I have. I am a bit weary but happy tired tonight and thankful. I will need to come back here later. Thanks for sharing your thoughts
Love and blessings,
Brenda
I love that Tasha Tudor quote and the picture!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if "due time" is something we experience in this life or the next...but I think at least in part it can be in this life...My life changed dramatically when I became a card-carrying member of the sandwich generation, caught between caring for aging parents and launching kids and receiving grandkids...ready or not. When I moved from kicking and screaming "I don't have a life!" to "This IS my life" and embracing it each and every day, I am finding fulfillment and daily rewards of joys I never could have dreamed of, especially in getting to enjoy children all over again. I still believe there is much more to be reaped and what helps me to not give up is constantly trying to remember to give things an eternal perspective. This earthly life is so short...the older I get the more I yearn to make each day count for something with eternal ramifications. Thanks for bringing me back to my heart's desire after a fairly difficult couple weeks in the sandwich.
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