ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 28, 2022
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find the wonderful litany that speaks of how life has certain periods of time—a certain stage of life when one response makes sense, and then at a later stage in life, a very different response makes sense. As someone who is not very good with letting go, saying good-bye or going in a new direction, I am drawn to where it speaks of a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away. I believe there is real truth in those words, but how do we know when the new time has come and a new response is needed? It’s important not to jump ahead of ourselves and throw away when it would probably be better to hold tight for another year or two. At the same time, I have gripped tightly to something in the belief that I would know the perfect time to let go. And it was only later, while glancing in the rear view mirror of life, that I saw how the perfect time was years earlier. I use my quiet times with God to ask whether something is life-giving or not. I try to determine whether I have incorrectly attached a false sense of security or comfort to something, not recognizing how it was draining my life because I had continued to cling. Not only naming it in prayer, but having people around who can be trusted is extraordinarily helpful. They often see things we cannot, and even when we are not ready, they can ever so gently say, “It’s time.”
O God, give me a discerning heart alongside some courage when it comes to determining how best to live in this current moment of life. And when my discerning powers and my courage are both lacking, give me kind friends who will speak the truth with grace. Amen.
