A time for...

Everything. I keep coming back to Ecclesiastes 3 as we move into this next season of life, and the only comfort I can find is that there is a "time for everything under heaven". A time to laugh, a time to mourn...and it's o.k.

My girl celebrated her birthday this week, became a high schooler and starting driving a car. What happened to the chubby cheeks and pig tails that have hallmarked the last 15 years?

She is the happiest, most wonderful friend. She is sunshine and laughter, and joy in the ordinary. So when she's sad it absolutely breaks my heart. The last couple of weeks have been so hard, and for the first time I have seen her struggle with just being "down". Lonely even when she's not, restless and distracted. Not all the time, but enough to make my heart hurt too. Even when she feels crushed and heart broken, she still tries to brighten my day...and that makes her pain that much harder to bear. When I see her tears, how much she misses certain things that have changed...it feels like I can't breathe either. She just tries so hard to love everyone around her, it makes me so sad when others let her down.

Oh, if you knew what my days are like being the mother of a girl like her. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't surprise me with something wonderful. For her birthday, we put together a scrapbook of notes from people who have loved her since she was a toddler. Notes that told her one trait that they loved about her, one way they saw Jesus in her. It was so great to hear what others see. But my favorite was what Steve wrote.

He told her how much he loved her humor, and then reminded me of why she's spoiled rotten. He wrote about his favorite memory, which happened to be how whenever he would try to spank her when she was naughty, she would make him laugh. So they would sit on her bed giggling, and trying to be quiet so I wouldn't freak out. Then they would hug, she would apologize, and he would let her off the hook. Really!?! That's my girl. You can't NOT laugh with her. Thank God she has the Holy Spirit to convict her and discipline her, because apparently we failed miserably! :)

Go give your daughters a hug tonight. Pray that Jesus would be the lover of their souls, he is the One who won't ever let them down. Parents will, brothers will, boyfriends and husbands will- but God, never. Remind your daughters what a treasure they are, and how much you like them.

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace...
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart...I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live." Ecclesiastes 3:1-12

A Violinist in the Metro.

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

I loved this story when a friend sent it to me. For some reason, it really struck me at how much we let our pre-conceived ideas affect the way we view, listen, or experience the world- and the people in it. I take for granted too often the fact that my children are beautiful and healthy, that my husband will come home tonight again, that God is on His throne, and all is RIGHT in my world, because He is watching over me. I want to see the beauty that God has laid out before me everyday, and I want to appreciate it. I want to find the balance between loving people through their hurts, yet not letting the ugly in this world weigh me down. Balance, Renee, balance. :) I think this story was just for me- so God could show me....how much I miss. He is GOOD, His world is GOOD, I just need to open my eyes and see past the obvious.

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck 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;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, 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...
He has made everything beautiful in it's time." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11a