Timing is everything....

Ecclesiastes 3 is, in popular culture, sort of a cliche.  The words are familiar to most people, even if they can't place where they originally came from.  It is a song, it is a poem, it is a saying on a facebook post.  It means different things to different people, but most of the time, it is a superficial glance at words which can be twisted to mean whatever you want them to mean.

But when you really dig into the passage, there is a lot of substance.  It isn't a whimsical statement at all.  It is clear direction on how we, as Christians, should live.

It is difficult to break down one verse from the rest, because they all tie together, but I have been contemplating verse 6 quite a lot the last few weeks.

"A time to search, and a time to give up;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away."

I have been going through boxes recently, deciding what I need, and what should be tossed aside.  Most of these boxes haven't been opened since I moved from Kansas City, almost six years ago now, so most of this stuff is long forgotten and unneeded.

That distance has brought clarity, so many of the decisions were easy.  Old papers and junky items that cluttered up my previous house (and life) were quickly disposed of without regret.  Clothing which no longer suits my maturing body were given away for someone else to enjoy without a second thought.  Appliances, dishes, office supplies and other items that I don't need and no longer want can be useful to someone else, and they are welcome to have them.

But some decisions are much more difficult to make, because there are attachments and bonds and uses for things which extend beyond the superficial.  I kept the teeny baby outfit I once dressed my daughter in, not because it will ever be used again, but because it is special to me, and reminds me of the joy I felt when she finally fit into preemie clothing instead of doll clothes.  I have bookmarks galore, all given to me by special people who knew I love to read, and they are reminder that I was thought of and cared about.  No one needs 85 bookmarks (a rough estimate, but probably not far off!)  But they are all in my Bible marking favorite verses, and reminding me of people who are important to me.  I have every card from flowers sent by my husband, tacked up in various locations, because they remind me of how special he is to do that, and how much he loves me.  They are not valuable, or even useful, in the traditional sense, but they are priceless to me.

I have found a few things I have long searched for, and which were missed, but I could not find anywhere because they were tossed into a random box which remained unopened, present, but invisible to me.  I had given up and replaced some of the items, because they were needed, now leaving me with a surplus.  So what do I do, keep the surplus, just in case, or toss away, because I have already moved on?  Tough decisions, indeed.  And a good metaphor for life generally.

Life is complicated, and people make decisions for complex reasons that don't always make sense from the outside looking in.  It is easy to look at someone else's life and "know" what is right.  It is another thing entirely to make cold, hard decisions on your own life, especially when they affect other people.

Life is filled with change.  We are constantly adapting to fit new circumstances.  Most of the time, the decisions are easy and obvious, and we barely give it a thought as we make the necessary adjustments to fit new conditions.  But sometimes, life throws curve balls, and the decisions are much more difficult.

Ecclesiastes gives me much to think about.  As I continually search for what God wants for my life, I need to give up what no longer fits.  It is never easy, and requires much prayerful reflection.  But in the end, throwing away what is not in God's plan will open my life up to something even better, something worth keeping, at least for a season or two.

Wishing you success in your search for today, and joy in the journey.