A Time For Everything

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 3:1-11


     I spent a lot of time this week reflecting on this passage of scripture.  I lost three people whom were important influences on my life this past week.  the first was my father, the second was my Hazmat Chief, and the third was a fellow firefighter who supported my decision to teach.  I have know all three of them as long as I can remember.  Two of the three  knew they were dying and chose to go on hospice to die at home with their families.  The third fell, broke his hip and never returned from the hospital.  I will miss all three.  The hardest was my dad.  Not for the reasons that one would expect, but rather because I never really had a good relationship with him until the last year of his life.  
     It was only as my relationship with God grew, that I was able to build a better relationship with my dad.   He didn't believe in God.  He never read a bible.  He and I argued and fought over anything and everything.  We never saw eye to eye about anything.   But as my relationship with God grew, so did my relationship with my dad.  My dad kept saying that I had changed.  That he didn't know what it was but that it was a good thing.  A year ago I was afraid of the man.  A week ago I was afraid for him.   God healed the wounds that both of us felt.  In his last few months my dad spent most of his time in his bedroom.  But often he would venture out into the living room to visit if I came by the house.  He would bring articles clipped from newspapers about things going on in the community and the world.  He would say "I saw this article and thought you might be interested in it...".  As he grew weaker and could no longer make the trip to the living room, I would go to his bedroom, plop down in a chair and we would discuss the days politics or just watch television together.  
     On the last day of my dad's life he told me he wanted to talk to me alone.  We never got that chance.   I can't wait to see what he has to tell me when I join him at God's feet.  What? You say how?  Well that is where God's timing comes in...
     Jeremiah 1, Isaiah 53, Psalm 139 and many other scriptures tell us that God knew each of us even before He formed us in our mother's womb.  Jeremiah  29 tells us that God knows the plans he has for us.... that in itself tells us that God has a plan for each of our lives.   Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time set aside for everything that happens in our lives.  If God has a plan, and has a time set aside for everything to happen in our lives then that is a pretty structured plan.  Free will can sometimes get in the way, but God has a funny way of guiding things to where He wants them to be.  
     My dad was dying after eighty-five years of denying God.  I had tried to share the good news with him on many occasions and been shut down.  My Pastor always said don't push it, if he shuts you down let it go.  Forcing it will only make him angry and he will not hear the word.  God knows the time.  God will create the right opportunity and will work it out so that he will want to hear it.   The night before my dad died, he had a long talk with my cousin who shared the word with him.  My dad didn't shut him down.  They discussed it for almost an hour.  My dad said that he didn't agree with everything my cousin said, but he listened and didn't get angry.  The next day, just hours before he died, my dad's attorney asked if she could pray with him.  He said ok.  She got bold and said that she would like to pray for him in Jesus' name.  He said ok.  That was BIG for my dad.  That would have never happened a year ago.... God's timing.   I never heard my dad say he accepted Jesus, but I can't imagine him allowing his attorney to pray for him in Jesus' name unless he had.  Maybe that's what he will tell me when I see him again.
     And when we look at how God works... I see that within my own life God has been working and it sure seems like it is part of a plan.   A year ago I would not have been able to have handled even my father's death, without the other two coming at the same time.  But God has been working.   A year ago I would have turned to my friends to be my rock.  I would have wanted them to make it bearable.   But this year, I have God as my rock, my strength, my go to guy.   Sure I called on my friends.  I needed them to be there for me...(and they were- I have the world's best friends), but I was hanging onto God's coat-tails with all I had.   He got me through this.  My friends were there to pray with me, cry with me, and support me just as Aaron helped to support Moses' arms on the mountain top.
     God DOES have a plan for our lives.  Within that plan there is a time for all things.   and as Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me..."   It's not always gonna be easy.  But with God as our guide, we will surely get through it.   It's got to make you wonder...
     Dear Lord, I am thankful that You are the rock that I can turn to in any storm.  I am thankful that you have surrounded me with some of the best friends a girl can ask for.  May I some day do for others what they have done for me as I have weathered this storm with You.    Thank You for Your perfect timing, even if I sometimes don't see it until it's over.  And thank You for not giving up on any of us...