Ecclesiastes 3: Part 1 A.K.A Seaweed Is Cool, Seaweed Is Fun...

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace


It is interesting as we travel into the summer months to see how people "feel the will to live again." After all the rain, depression, and storms the masses are ready to move in droves just based on one little thing: the rays of the sun. Being the disgustingly optimistic pessimist that I am (if you don't believe there is such a thing, dive into my brain for a day), I cannot help but wonder if anyone will actually acknowledge their rough Winter as they progress through the warmth. So far there have been two note-worthy attitudes. The first is: "I shall forget my Wintry prison and march forth into this new found light. No longer will anything harm this earthly body. I am invincible!" And the second is: "Why do anything but dwell on how horrendous my life has been? What should it mean, that beastly sun? Quick! Close the blinds...Ah! No! My eyes have been scorched by those merciless beams! It is too late for me, now. I will sulk some more in my infantile state." OK, that may be slightly extreme, but is it possible to find a balance? Can we not grab hold of the past? Might we learn from it and not dwell on it, flying forward on the wings of the Spirit knowing what we have and showing courage for what is to come? You know those Winter days will roll around just the same. They will come sweeping away all hope for a glorious future... unless we acquiesce to one thing: Christ is our Sun or, if you will, The Son. Even on those endless professedly God-forsaken chilling days He remains the warmth our souls and hearts need. He can awaken the numbness within creating life we never thought existed inside. He will unleash a courage, strength, and defiance through His grace that will conquer any monster, battle, or sin. Why not remember the storms in the summer? Why not take the beauty with us into the winter? There is a time and a teaching for it all. Let us not forget its relevance in our everyday "mundane" lives. Let God make something greater for you. Let His will overcome you. Let His love transform you. Fly into the Winter with his beauty in hand.

Remember what plagued you in your depression? It has not left you. Nor will it until the day we are united with our Savior. But it will not poison you as long as you are in His arms. Find them and grab a hold. The time for cowardice is not here. The time for trust is upon us. Live every day to it's fullest “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19