In ‘Who the Bishop Knows‘ by Vannetta Chapman the Amish community loses one of their own during a fatal shooting targeted at this young man at the annual Ski Hi Stampede rodeo. Obviously, this affects the entire community, Amish, and Englisch. As Emma and Ruth are standing on the front porch, Ruth comments that ‘life is hard’. Emma doesn’t argue with her. She does, however, think of words from Ecclesiastes. Read chapter 3, verses 1-8 from this book in the Old Testament. How do the words minister to your heart?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
For me, this scripture gives me the perspective that while life is sometimes messy, it’s also beautiful. That for every bad season, there will be a good season. It enforces, for me, that I don’t need to dwell on the bad because better days are coming! I am also comforted that there is a purpose for every season. When I lost two of my babies, I had a hard time knowing why I had to endure a loss. After my first loss, I became pregnant with Kahlan. She’s a little firework. I really can’t imagine my life without her. Though I’ll always hold the lost baby in my heart, I am without a doubt that Kahlan is the child we were meant to hold in our arms. Then the same thing happened when I lost a baby after I had Kahlan. Had I not lost Evenstar, Arie would not have been born. And the world needed Arie. I needed Arie. I could never have made a choice between my children. I will be reunited with those babies in heaven. But, while my heart needed Angel and Evenstar, my arms and family needed Kahlan and Arie. After the season of loss came the season of love and the completion of our family.
Every season is temporary. The bad won’t be bad forever. All we have to do is soldier on and keep the faith!
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