Women’s Ministry: A Time For Everything Under Heaven
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens……. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
The past year has brought the death of my second parent and the clearing out of my parents’ home, the birth of my first two grandchildren and anticipating the birth of another, moving from one home to another and from one church to another. In the process of going through hundreds of drawers and cupboards and boxes, I have literally seen my life, and those of my parents and grandparents pass before my eyes. The worries of a high school girl, the excitement of a new baby, the joy of raising children, the obituaries of friends. Change has been the constant of all generations. And so I am thinking of seasons. In this beautiful and calming passage in Ecclesiastes, God shows us that He thinks of seasons in our life too.
As we go through life day by day and year by year, one is tempted to mourn the passing of good times and think of sad, frustrating times and the experience of loss, as failures or punishment, and certainly something to be avoided. God has a message for us here. The scripture tells us that our life on earth will hold the whole gamut of experiences and emotions. The times when we die, tear down, or weep are not the times when something went wrong. They are the nature of life on earth. Our God not only makes all things beautiful in their time, but He has also sent the Holy Spirit to be with us in all seasons. As we learned in our Advent class about Sacred Waiting, during these times of waiting for the time to heal, plant, and laugh again, we can invite God into our waiting and make it a time when we grow closer to God and grow.
So, will we approach the new year with anxiety about things to come that are out of our control and therefore scary? Will we despair, regret, or hold on too tightly? Or will we invite God into the moment and allow Him to work through us and in us?
In the words of Richard Dahlstrom in Forest Faith: Finding Hope and Wholeness By Learning to Pray Among the Trees
“Christ above me, I receive.
Christ below me, I am rooted.
Christ around me, I am connected.
Christ within me, I am called.”
As we enter 2024 with Christ above, below, around and within us, we are called to Love Deeply, Grow Spiritually, and Share Abundantly.
Dear Lord, We know we never go through anything alone and that you are with us always, even when we don’t acknowledge your presence or open ourselves to you. 2024 will hold times for all the seasons of life, and we give you thanks that you are with us always. Amen
This month’s devotion is written by Lori Snyder-Sloan. Lori is new to Sheridan, having been a life-long child of God. In her past life she served in healthcare as an Infection Preventionist for CHI Health, and currently enjoys volunteering as a nurse and working part-time from home. She is the wife of Jon Sloan and the mother of married children in Florida and Oregon, a bonus-daughter in Germany and two pups at home. Her family is the highlight of her life, however she also enjoys raising plants, reading, crocheting, Bible study, time with friends, and cross-fit workouts. She and Jon currently live in Omaha, but after the remodel of the family home, they will move back to Lincoln in early June.