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19 March 2014

To Every Thing There Is a Season

March kind of got away on me. It's a really busy season; my head is full of thoughts and my soul and body too tired to process them all. But then the other day I heard this poem read at a gathering, and I was reminded of how much I love it. It brings up the image of a pendulum, swinging slowly back and forth, ticking away the times.
There is a time to every purpose under heaven.

SEASONS

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Rain-drenched crocus buds. Spring is here.

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3 comments:

  1. Unknown20/3/14 10:22

    Amen :) The universe spins and does not care one iota about our comings and goings. It spun before we arrived. It will continue to spin long after our passing. It will spin until time is remade.

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    1. AMOffenwanger20/3/14 10:37

      I find it comforting that *everything* has its seasons, the good and the bad. That means that the hard, painful things aren't a terrible catastrophe, or failure on our part, or what-have-you, but they're just that, seaons.

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    2. Unknown20/3/14 12:26

      Very much so. Each life is a season. Each happening in a life a season. Each happening in a happening a season and so on ad infinitum. It's like a painter painting themselves painting themselves painting themselves. It goes on forever with each picture a happening but all happening in that eternal second. Each one a season in a never ending season. Qoheleth rocked even if he was a little Snape-ish...

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