We’re in between seasons here in Western New York. Winter has officially ended, yet spring is hard to find on some days. Although the church continues to celebrate Easter, it is over for the secular world, where each holiday is rushed to make ready for the next. This poem from Ecclesiastes, which was written around 900 BC, reminds me to give each season its due.

From Ecclesiates 3:1-8 by Solomon

 

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven:

 

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what 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 seek, 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 for war, and a time for peace.