Grace for each season
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV
[1] There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: [2] a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, [3] a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, [4] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, [5] a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, [6] a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, [7] a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, [8] a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
https://ecclesiastes.bible/ecclesiastes-3-1
I went for a walk this morning and I just love spring. I love how the flowers are blooming and the fruit trees are fruiting. The weather is beautiful and everyone is out and about enjoying the season.
Being in Penrith, I also know that spring means that summer is coming soon. Penrith summer can be unforgiving. Hot sun and hot wind sometimes accompanied by bushfires.
I was chatting with a friend while we were doing SRE together about ministry and what it's like ministering while having young kids. I've just given birth to my third child 3 months ago and just reflecting on the things that I could and couldn't do. My friend reflected that for a couple of years she couldn't attend morning church because she had to go with her kids to kids church. Her husband was not a Christian and she saw that ministry to her children at that point is more important than having gone to normal Sunday service herself. She's now older and able to serve in other ways and sit under preaching weekly. She reflected how the minister at the time strongly encouraged her to come to Sunday service instead of helping at kids church and that was a real struggle for her.
As parents who love to see their kids to follow on the faith, sometimes we are faced with real and difficult choices. There might be time when we can't do the things that our church expected of us. We might not be able to regularly come to church because of sick kids. We might not be able to concentrate during sermon when the babies are crying. Talking to people after can be hard because we're just plain tired.
Recently I've been reminded again how our salvation is not by works but through Christ only. If we fully believe in that, I think we can learn to be gracious to ourselves and to others who might be in a difficult season of life. When we truly understand God's amazing unconditional grace to us, we can give unconditional grace to others. We can be fellow sojourners in this broken world who encourage, challenge and rebuke if need be. We can learn to support each other when one is hurting.
The beauty of grace is that God gives us the grace we need for every season. It might look different for each person but God knows what we need and gives it accordingly. So whatever season you're in at the moment, know that God is gracious and merciful. He knows what you need right now and He gives it and you can rest on that. Others might not but God does.