There is a Season

By Nikki Wilson

 

" 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

I love the scripture above. It also helps that it was once made into a song that makes it nearly impossible for me to read this scripture without singing it in my head and adding the words, "turn, turn, turn" to each verse. 

But I've been especially drawn to this scripture lately as my oldest child turns 18 years old this month. She still has another year of high school but it feels like my time with her is slipping away. And not just my time with her, but my other children as well. I have three children in high school this year and one still in elementary school. How did time move so quickly? How did I let this happen? I suddenly find myself wanting to spend more time with them. I want to make sure I teach them more about the gospel, I want to warn them more about the world, I want to go back to the days when they sat in my lap and gave me slobbery kisses on my cheeks. This year will be particularly trying as I try to do all those things and get to all their school/church functions, and sporting events. This means I have to give myself permission to let the rest of the world go to the wayside.

This unfortunately means my writing as well. Not that I'm going to stop entirely. I'm just allowing myself to slow the pace and be alright with that. I'm not sure if I'm even going to try Nano this year. Mostly because I have three kids in three different fall sports right now. Though I'll take it one step at a time. But right now is definitely the season of my family. This is my time to keep them close and my time to get as many memories as I can. It's my time to embrace them as often as possible, and my time to build them up before the world tries to tear them down. Yes, I have been doing all this for their whole lives, but I suddenly feel like it's crunch time and I need to cram in as much as I can before the final exam of letting them go. 

So I will enter this season of my life knowing what my focus is and giving myself permission to let everything else take a back seat. Because my family is more than worth it!