On a Walmart run in late summer, I was almost
overwhelmed by the sight of Halloween decorations, costumes, and shelves upon
shelves of candy. Then, on my way to the pharmacy, I spied Christmas
Decorations. According to Ecclesiastes, “To every thing there is a season…” To
be blunt, summer is not the season for Christmas.
So the song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” swirled through my
thoughts. Pete Seeger composed the song in 1959 almost verbatim from the wisdom
found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Seeger said these were the most important words he
had ever latched on to, and that the melody leaps the barriers of language,
politics, and religion.
We all know religions that seem to place high
importance on a particular part of the Bible, and that section serves as the
centerpiece of their beliefs. Thanks to the song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” people
worldwide heard about the verses that describe the ebb and flow of life.
Although the terms seem contradictory, often life itself is paradoxical.
Each year we have four seasons, and sometimes
those seasons are applied to life: Spring is thought of as the beginning of
life. Summer represents our youth. Autumn can be compared to adulthood
beginning with brilliant colors and fading away in time. Winter, well, we all
know winter is the last season. But true to the circle of life, winter is
followed by the new birth of Springtime.
Whether we learned of the many seasons of life
from the Bible or the song, apparently, life is full of contradictions and yet there is a purpose for everything under heaven.
The bookends of life are birth and death. Between
birth and death, everything changes or turns. To nourish our bodies we plant
food and harvest it. At one time, the only way to put meat on the table was to
kill, but animals used for food needed to be healthy.
Physically and mentally, we may have to tear down
that which is no longer useful and build a better version. Emotionally, we know
that life is filled with laughter and tears. Sometimes we mourn our losses and
other times we dance for joy.
Life is a cycle of gathering earthly treasures,
but knowing that we can lose them in a heartbeat. We all know that a time will
come when we seriously have to know what to keep and what we need to throw
away.
In
relationships, we learn when to embrace and when to keep our distance. We learn
the fine art of knowing when to speak and when to keep silent. Love and hate
are closer emotions than most of us would ever want to admit. Some
relationships need to be mended, while others cannot be salvaged and are torn asunder.
Our lives involve many struggles as we deal with our personal health problems or those affecting people we love, or both. As we age, we may
need a caregiver or may be a caregiver. Another paradox is that being a
caregiver can be detrimental to our health, or it may be our incentive to keep
moving even when we don’t feel like it.
No matter
how bad the situation, we can look around and find someone who is worse off
than we are. We see devastation from natural disasters where shell-shocked
people will feel fortunate to be alive.
War wreaks havoc on innocent and guilty alike, yet
the Bible says that there is a time for war. There is also a time for peace. I
agree with the line Pete Segar added, “I swear it’s not too late.”
by L.S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
#ENDALZ #Walk2EndAlz