A Time For…

What a day!  I’m sure we have all had one of those days that we could not wait for it to end…where nothing seems to go right and we feel like if the day doesn’t end quickly, it may actually all fall apart.  Today was one of those days for me.  But, after lunch, things began to take a turn…for the better.  My afternoon appointments didn’t work out.  I still had a whole list of other things to do…but it was 65 degrees on a winter day.  I had been inside too long and was anxious to get some fresh air.  Emma and I decided it was time for a hike at the Cliffs of the Neuse…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I walked through the trail, I began to feel better.  I enjoyed hearing the songs of the birds.  It began to notice the beauty of the trees.  My eyes were opening to the creation that was all around me.  I began to breathe…

I noticed how different all of the trees were.  There were some tall and majestic…

Others were small but alive with potential…

Still others appeared to have been at the end of their usefulness…yet contained a beauty that was indescribable…

They were everywhere…as I walked to the lake, they surrounded the water in beauty…protecting, shielding, and accepting nourishment from the water…

 

All of these trees…in all their specialness and uniqueness…in all their splendor…are beautiful.  Whether they were just beginning or their time was completed, they are a part of God’s creation.  Not many people know much about the book of Ecclesiastes, but if people know anything, they know this found in chapter 3:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

 Today, this writing began to speak to me as it never has before.  I began to see this come to life.  As I looked around at the planted…and the stones…in silence, I also considered that which had died…which had been plucked up…which had been gathered. In all of God’s wisdom, he has blessed us with signs and wonders all around us…if only we will pay attention.

I will leave you with one of my favorite poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

Earth is crammed with heaven

And every common bush aflame with God

But only those who see will take off their shoes

The rest sit around and pluck blackberries

Maybe, just maybe today was one of those holy moments..