June 8 devotion

This week I keep hearing the words of Ecclesiastes 3 in my head. These verses were made popular in the sixties when Pete Seeger put the words to music and added the phrase “Turn, Turn, Turn,” I keep repeating the first line, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2a time to be born, and a time to) die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

My youngest (and 4th) son just graduated from high school and left last Friday for Chicago. He plans to attend the University of IL at Chicago this fall and live with his older brother who is a CPA in Chicago. He decided to move up there for the summer.

Our 3rd son is getting married this Saturday--the first of our five children to get married. I am so excited to have another daughter and she is truly a blessing for my son. We thank God for this great gift. BUT it’s all changes. You know they say that motherhood is the only job where your goal is to work your way out of a job. Thankfully I still have a 13 year old daughter to ensure my “mother” job for a few more years!!!!

I also look a little further in chapter 3 and find comfort in verse 14.
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.

I thank God for the gift of faith he gave to these children through their baptism. Just as they became our child through birth, they became a child of God at their baptismal “rebirth.” While I may still worry and fret over them as they move on in their independence, I know in my heart that God will continue to hold them in His hands—and that is more powerful than any of my concerns.

Heavenly Father, many of your children are experiencing changes in their lives—children moving away, children getting married, divorce, death, job loss. Help us to remember that You are the CONSTANT amid all the turmoil. You do not ever change and Your promises are always fulfilled. You are the God of peace and have promised that peace to Your children. Help us to live as children of the promise with the constant assurance of Your grace through Jesus Christ to sustain us through all situations. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.