Gratitude- Seasons!

I don’t know about you guys, but for me, it feels like we are already full-steam ahead to Christmas. My trees are up, most (but not all) of my gifts are purchased (thank you, Amazon!), and with all of the wish list collection and distribution that we are working on for our clients, I feel like I’m in the big middle of the Holiday season! However, as my husband keeps reminding me as I’m trying to nail him down for all of our Christmas parties and plans, it’s still November! And, he’s right—at least for another day or so.

So, with that being said, I wanted to circle back and wrap-up November with one more gratitude—and that is the gratitude of seasons. Solomon (the King known for his God-given wisdom) reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

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 from embracing,
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.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to spend an evening caching-up with some of my best friends. And it was the kind of meet-up that’s just good for your soul. We met in college, and I don’t get to see them nearly enough, but since I was at home in Louisiana, and they happened to also be in town, we were able to spend an evening together. We talked about the past and the present, and one of my friends shared with us that she is getting ready to move to New York, which caused both excitement and tears. In the course of the conversation, as we were actually talking about another friend, she shared an analogy that seasons of friendship are like being in theatre—some friends are on the front row for a while, and then they may move back a few rows and others take their place up front, but they’ll always be in the room with you.

I really liked that analogy, and it so reminds me of this passage in Ecclesiastes. There are times when life will be easy, and times when life will be more difficult. Times when you have prosperity, and times when you have need. And, through it all, there is purpose. Even when we can’t see it, even when there is pain, there is purpose. God knows what He is doing, even when we can’t quite figure it out.

On Tuesday morning, an image of Thanksgiving from 10 years ago came up in my Facebook Time Hop. I simultaneously love and hate that feature! Sometimes the reminders are of great times, but they always make me feel so old, and sometimes they just remind me of those people who, for whatever reason, have moved to the back of the theatre.

The picture that came up on Tuesday was 10 Thanksgivings ago at my grandmother’s house, and it was a reminder that the people that I spent my childhood celebrating ALL of the holidays with are no longer the ones who are typically around my holiday table. This isn’t a bad thing, because I’m so grateful for my husband, step-daughter, sister-in-law, niece and nephew who have all joined our family, and I don’t want to imagine life without them! However, our family has lost some members, spread out, and we don’t gather how and where we used to.

I think it’s possible to mourn the loss of something old while still being so thankful and excited about the new. I believe that is what Solomon thought, as well! So, as we TRULY move in to this Christmas season, I encourage us to continue our gratitude. Be grateful for what is past, grateful for what is present, and grateful for things to come. Be aware of the “season” of your life, while remembering that other seasons have existed. And, if you happen to be in a season of mourning or weeping because of loss, remember that laughter and dancing will once again return, in their season.