To Everything There Is A Season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-8, 10-11

This is one of my very favorite scriptures. Sometimes I find myself feeling inadequate or like I'm in the wrong place in my life... like I haven't accomplished anything. A friend once responded to my frustration by saying, "What is it you were meant to have accomplished?" The Lord never specifies how long our seasons will be. Just like the long winters in Canada and the long summers in the Caribbean, sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a season. But these locales adapt and flourish based on what can grow and survive in their climate. I'd like to see a palm tree survive a Utah winter or an apple tree survive a Florida summer. And perhaps it is indeed possible, but the point is that there is surely a way to survive and flourish no matter the seasons, if you just accept your "weather" and learn what grows best and how to flourish wherever you. The problem comes from wanting a different season.

I have maintained a mantra for awhile... "Don't feed the dragon." I have decided there is a dragon in everyone and everything. To feed it, causes it to grow. So starve it. Accept it. Let it be, and it will grow no more. One of the hardest things to learn in life is submission--submission to the way life is instead of what we think it ought to be. We have a tendency as human beings to "kick against the pricks" (as the apostle Paul said)... to fight against the inevitable to our own detriment.

I am learning the importance of acceptance in an effort to find true peace and happiness. Instead of worrying about the mistakes of the past or the promises of the future, live each day for what it is. Learn to dance in the rain or to smile into the sunshine without getting burned. As Charlotte Bronte offered, "Try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward."