For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)]
In spite of the ominous looking sky, I thought the rain was more than an hour away, so I confidently set off on my morning walk. By the time I was halfway around the lake, the clouds were delivering their rain. While meteorology isn’t my strong suit, optimism probably is, which explains why I had neither umbrella nor phone with me. As I slowly got soaked, I thought of the quote “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” We can choose to be wet and miserable or wet and happy; either way we’ll still be soaked, so we might as well be wet and happy! Although I didn’t dance, I didn’t let the rain dampen my spirits. By the time I got home, the rain had stopped and I was blessed by a rainbow!
There are those of us for whom the glass is half full and others for whom it is half empty. I’m just thankful there’s anything in the glass! However, for the Thai Buddhist master Ajahn Chaa, that glass was broken. He explained his reasoning by holding up a glass and admiring the way it held water, glistened in the sunlight, and rang when tapped while being fully aware that one day the wind could blow it off the shelf or it would be knocked from the table and the glass would shatter. For the Buddhist master, thinking of the glass as already broken made every minute with it “precious” (whether full or empty). While the monk enjoyed the glass while he had it, he never worried about it breaking nor did he mourn its loss when it broke. Fully aware of life’s fragility and truly appreciative of all it had to offer, rather than a pessimist, Ajahn Chaa was a mindful realist and his explanation was about more than a water glass. Nevertheless, I suspect that the Buddhist master, who spent seven years living in the forest while wandering through the countryside, also knew how to dance in the rain.
Indeed, we live in a broken world—a world with disease, disaster, destruction, storms, and death. Life itself is fragile and far more than glasses shatter and break. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for everything—both pleasant and unpleasant—and no state of affairs in this life is permanent. Rather than static, stable, and enduring, the things of life change, transform, and take flight. Ultimately, God ordains both the times of their coming and going, as well as their purpose. We mortals, however, find His divine timetable mysterious. Like the Buddhist master, we must embrace life’s unpredictability and make the most of what we have while we have it!
I understand there’s a saying in the south: “Be where your feet are.” In other words, be attentive to the present and what God has placed in our paths at the moment. Yes, storms come unexpectedly, glasses break, and people come and go. Like the phases of the moon, life waxes and wanes and, like the tides, it ebbs and flows. The one constant we have is God and the one moment we have is right now! There’s no point wasting the precious minutes of life ruminating over past “would’ves”, “could’ves”, and” should’ves” or worrying about the “what-ifs” of the future when we have been gifted with the present!
Heavenly Father, guide us to be mindful so that we delight in every person, place, thing, circumstance, and breath with which we’ve been blessed. Give us the ability to feel your presence, hear your music, and dance in the rain!
Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. [Mother Teresa]
Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love, and the future to God’s providence. [Augustine]
The Sinner’s Shack Gentlemen’s Club wanted to open an establishment in a small Midwest community. It’s a rather conservative town and, since there’s nothing gentlemanly about the goings on in such an establishment, many people were up in arms about it. When the Holier than Thou Evangelical Church started a campaign to halt the tawdry business from locating in town, prayer sessions were held three times a day and the City Council was inundated with letters and calls of protests. Unfortunately, in spite of the prayers and pleas, proper zoning was attained and construction on the “gentlemen’s club” began. Just a day before its grand opening, however, lightning struck the Sinner’s Shack and it burned to the ground!
Even though pumpkin spice lattes are available, pumpkin kringles can be found at Trader Joes, and Michael’s, Walmart, and Target are displaying their Halloween décor, here in Florida, it’s still summer and rainy season. We’re experiencing temperatures in the 90s and rain nearly every day. Sometimes, it’s a real doozy with thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour; other times, it’s just a little drizzle. God willing, the weather should improve next month and, by the time we turn our clocks back November 1, the beautiful weather here will remind us why we moved to southwest Florida in the first place.
According to Bible Gateway, the six verses of the 23rd Psalm are the most popular ones on their site, with verses 4 and 6 usually vying for first place. The seventh most popular verse, however, is today’s verse, Jeremiah 29:11. When people are going through hard times, this is the kind of verse that gets pulled out to reassure them that everything will turn out right.
Last Monday, I referenced an article in Christianity Today by theology teacher Jared Dodson whose students wanted to know “when bad people will get what they deserve.” Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that bad people will get what they deserve while on this side of the grass. Nevertheless, if they don’t repent and follow Jesus, those people eventually will get their comeuppance. Scripture makes it clear that those who don’t know God and follow the gospel of Jesus “will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.” [2 Thes 1:8-9]
Like many of the psalms, Psalm 136 opens with words of thanksgiving. Beginning with creation, this beautiful psalm reviews God’s goodness in regard to his people and encourages them to praise Him for his merciful and steadfast love. Where it differs from the other psalms of thanksgiving is that every line is followed by a refrain of “His faithful love endures forever.” From those first three verses, it continues giving thanks “to him who alone does mighty miracles. … who made the heavens so skillfully. … who placed the earth among the waters. … who made the heavenly lights … the sun to rule the day… and the moon and stars to rule the night,” with its refrain following each verse. The next 13 verses recount Israel’s’ history…bringing them out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea, leading his people through the wilderness, defeating Pharaoh’s army, striking down powerful kings, and giving the land to Israel. Psalm 136 tells us that life is neither random nor meaningless; we are not here accidentally. Our lives are meticulously planned and intelligently designed.
