(Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 KJV) “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 love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
I wonder if we know when things are supposed to happen in our livers, or are we continually “flying by the seat of our pants?” I know a lot of people who just don’t care, but I do. I have tried to say and do what God wants me to do, and still, I continue to stumble. I guess that’s why God is all-knowing, all powerful, and I am just a little light trying to stay lit while the rest of the “nay-saying world” marches on to its own drummer. If we are to remain God’s children, we need to be mindful of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 (KJV).
There is a time for every season and a time for every purpose in our lives. God has plans for everything that happens to us, the when, where, and why. I was born 70 years ago in February in a small, soft-coal region of Maryland, with the date of my death yet to be fulfilled. The seeds of knowledge were planted in my mind in three separate towns. With my strong love of children, I became a music teacher in four separate towns and cities. By the year of 2024, I will have taught music for 50 years, and I am working towards my retirement in that year. Many of my friends said their, “Good-byes,” before leaving for Vietnam, never to return, and with time, all of our families healed with God’s love. I watched as my second husband struggled to survive a liver transplant and slowly built back his strength and wisdom with God’s patience.
Many tears have been shed since my third husband passed, but I continue to hear his laugh when two Christmas trees crashed to the living room floor in two consecutive years. As I have taught many students, I wonder what my baby would have grown up to be, and I dance with him or her in my dreams. I don’t know whether I grieved more for the loss of my baby or the loss of my first marriage through divorce. I do know I danced for eight years before I met my second husband through a political discussion about the changing premiers in Russia. I grieve for my step-son, Mick, who shut me out after his father died, but I remember how I have tried, unsuccessfully, to gather the barbs, the stones, that we threw at one another with estate issues. There truly was a time to embrace my step-daughters by my second husband, and now, I know, with wisdom, that embracing them could only lead to more pain for them and me. I was a successful, hard-working teacher in two separate school districts, but I came to realize that what really matters is not the facts or how many notes students learn. What really matters is never losing a moment to share your love with them, for it’s love that stays in their hearts for years to come.
I have lived in many places as an adult, beautiful homes with landscaped yards, loving pets, and white picket fences, but I realize there will come a time when I must leave these humble abodes. In my traditional writing, I still love to write out my thoughts on a clean piece of white paper, and if my words don’t suit my intentions, I crumble the pages up and start again, sewing together my thoughts for a more beautiful prose. I love the America I grew up in but have become jaded by the evil of one former president. I know, in God’s own time, He will find a place for this evil being, but I pray that He will not allow this man to take my beloved country down in the next presidential election or put us in a war with Russia or China. I want all Americans to believe, once more, that our prosperity comes from our Father, not from man. Every nation on this earth deserves peace, not war. Love will conquer all things, with God’s help.
There truly is a time for every season, every thing in our lives, and a divine purpose for each and everyone of us. I believe God gives us these seasons, times, events, and purposes so that we can learn how to become better people, more loving and caring. I fear for those who do not see or want to believe that God is our reason for life, Christ is the light of the world, and we are the branches of the tree of life, the ones responsible for the care of God’s creation. His plans are why we are here and why we need to love one another. There is no better time to thank God than right now for every thing, every time, and every gift He has given us.
Anna Hartt
