As I sat down to write this month’s article, I was once again reminded just how quickly this
year has flown by. How is it already August? And with half of 2023 already behind us and with
only 147 days until Christmas!
This past Sunday as Zoey, Hugo and I were painting a little something cheery to include in
the Sunshine Baskets, we were each sharing about our upcoming school year. Hugo starts school
next week, Zoey begins the week after that, and my classes resume on August 28th. We talked about
our summer highs and lows, our favorite things about summertime and what we were and weren’t
looking forward to in this upcoming school year. Do you all remember those days? Perhaps it is not
school but the angst or eagerness of returning to work after a vacation? Or the unsettledness when
changing jobs? Or retiring? This conversation reminded me of one of my favorite verses found in
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 which reads:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
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 from embracing,
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.
But what brings comfort and peace is found later in the reading. The writer asks, what do workers
gain from their toil? Verse 12 tells us, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be
happy and to do good while they live.” May we each remember this as we face new spaces, places,
and times in our lives either in school, work, or life circumstances.
Shalom,
Pastor Heidi