I got this card from spencersmom.com back in 2012 when I was in the hospital and it’s one of my favorites.
This post is about how we often Monday morning quarterback events in our lives and try to fit them into some sort of purpose or reason … when they might just be seasons-
We here in the East Coast, understand seasons- where we live they actually happen and are quite different. They also typically do not start when we expect and often are a little uncertain that they have actually happened and flop back and forth until its halfway over and then they get all reminiscent and display shades of the previous season…
Anyway… seasons are just that. They happen, they’re different and sometimes they are good and pleasant and sometimes they are dark, scary and cold and last longer than we want (sometimes setting or breaking and old record that really does not mean anything)
Once in a while something will happen in your life and you learn something or some other positive thing happens and it’s easy to think that “it must have been for a reason” and sometimes – well, who can really say-
But not everything that happens is attached to ‘a reason’ – it might just be ‘stuff’ that happens. Ecclesiastes 3.1 says: to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
So, what do we see there? We see God saying that there is seasons for stuff and times for stuff but not reasons- (pause and think a minute)
-Now, that is not a bad thing- it can mean that LIFE can be BOTH. – you can learn stuff when you are in different ‘seasons’ and life can be much more spontaneous- and you don’t have homework and stuff to learn every time things change-
I think it’s way better when it’s spontaneous- because this way God can have more expression in your life and you will need Him more and see His hand more as things happen- both good and bad. (of course I do not mean that God does things to mess with people) (if you are new to this blog its important to know that I fully agree with Rabbi Kushner’s book about When Bad Things Happen to Good People– it’s not ‘Why’ bad things happen its ‘When’ because stuff happens.)
I just went thru the big pile of get well cards I got when I had my broken back- and I have great friends who did not try and say that ‘God must be teaching me ….. etc’ When you know Jesus – you can trust that He is the Master of Improv- and He can work with whatever happens- and He will still be amazing and full of grace and love- and it will work out- but I think He enjoys it when its less-structured. We have to let Him be the Show-Off He is – He is GOD.
When I took Existentialism with Professor Dan McCullough, he put a piece of paper over the clock in the classroom with the words ‘RIGHT NOW’ on it. Whenever you looked at the clock you would see ‘RIGHT NOW’ instead of the ‘time’ – (don’t go too deep there- it’s a simple point) Professor Dan also viewed Jesus as the first and greatest existentialist- Jesus was able to see the big picture in all that He did and was never too worried about the future which freed Him to do so much with His life – He was able to be very spontaneous-
It’s the last day of March and how many of your January plans are in motion or have fallen silently away-? Or it’s RIGHT NOW and the future is a blank slate with a God that is far far bigger than any faults we have-
‘what would you do if you were not afraid?’ (quote from the book ‘who moved my cheese’)
-take care dear readers- leave a comment if you like- and thank you.
marcwelding 