Happy Labor Day!
Thank you to community workers who willingly work and serve on holidays.
Thank you to community workers who willingly work and serve on holidays.
SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 3:1New International Version (NIV
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
In the midst of turmoil in the 1960s, the Byrds (singing group for the young and innocent who may be reading) recorded "Turn, Turn, Turn". They took their message of hope straight from the book of Ecclesiastes. Wanting to be a rebel, but not quite, one youth Sunday in our Methodist church my brother was asked to preach. Mama and Daddy were so proud. At least they were until he blasted the Byrds from his stereo behind the pulpit. Rock 'n roll in church? What! Well, I never! Some folks were so incensed by the music they didn't listen to the words. Even as an adolescent I wondered if they didn't realize things change, and we always hope they change for the better.
We have a little green sandwich glass, glass. I bought it at our youth group's garage sale when Tom and I were first married. I thought it was pretty. There used to be a couple of saucers, a small bowl, and another glass that matched. Over the course of four decades of life, they've been broken or lost. I was a little concerned when I thought James was taking it to school last week. It concerned me because it was a token of a happy and simpler time. It's just a small juice glass, but it's so much more.
Maybe it's the beginning of a new school year, or my own personal life change (retiring from public education). Perhaps it's developing a greater understanding that perspectives change, priorities change, even when we want to hang onto the past. Whatever the cause, I've been thinking about change, and hope, and what's important to me a lot lately.
Sometimes I look around my house and really look at my "treasures". You know, mementos of family and friends, moments happy and victorious, and not so much. And I think about places we've been, things we've done, but mostly about the people who have blessed our lives. In my mature moments, I realize the best memories don't need tangible evidence, like a green sandwich glass, glass that reminds me of the good times we had during youth group days.
Why do we hold onto the "treasures" in our lives? Do they actually have monetary value, or is it more intrinsic? Do those treasures allow us to hold onto a small part of the past as we turn, turn, turn to the demands of the here and now? Thinking about the "treasures" in my life, it's enlightening to finally understand they are not things to be put on a shelf, but people and memories to be cherished for the grace and growth they have brought to my life.
What do you treasure the most? What makes it valuable to you?
Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something's time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings.
Henry Cloud
We have a little green sandwich glass, glass. I bought it at our youth group's garage sale when Tom and I were first married. I thought it was pretty. There used to be a couple of saucers, a small bowl, and another glass that matched. Over the course of four decades of life, they've been broken or lost. I was a little concerned when I thought James was taking it to school last week. It concerned me because it was a token of a happy and simpler time. It's just a small juice glass, but it's so much more.
Maybe it's the beginning of a new school year, or my own personal life change (retiring from public education). Perhaps it's developing a greater understanding that perspectives change, priorities change, even when we want to hang onto the past. Whatever the cause, I've been thinking about change, and hope, and what's important to me a lot lately.
Sometimes I look around my house and really look at my "treasures". You know, mementos of family and friends, moments happy and victorious, and not so much. And I think about places we've been, things we've done, but mostly about the people who have blessed our lives. In my mature moments, I realize the best memories don't need tangible evidence, like a green sandwich glass, glass that reminds me of the good times we had during youth group days.
Why do we hold onto the "treasures" in our lives? Do they actually have monetary value, or is it more intrinsic? Do those treasures allow us to hold onto a small part of the past as we turn, turn, turn to the demands of the here and now? Thinking about the "treasures" in my life, it's enlightening to finally understand they are not things to be put on a shelf, but people and memories to be cherished for the grace and growth they have brought to my life.
What do you treasure the most? What makes it valuable to you?
Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something's time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings.
Henry Cloud
"Turn, Turn, Turn": reminder of the seasons of change (The Byrds: 1965, 1971, 1990)
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