I’ve been at Calvary for a little over 5 years now. Who would have imagined that 5 years ago I’d be where I am today. A lot has changed in 5 years. What hair I have left is not just salt and pepper, it’s fully grey now. Those 6th graders of my first years at Calvary are now Juniors in High School and those High school students from my first year are now successful card carrying adults planning businesses, vacations and families of their own.

We’ve lost some old friends along the way and gained some new ones. All-in-all, I’ve learned a great deal over these last few years. I’ve learned to keep a planner – well, learning would be a better description. I’ve learned to text with my opposable thumbs and to skype with students and friends from days gone by. Even though I have a long way to go, I think I’ve learned some valuable lessons in the last 5 years. Who knows what could happen over the next 5.

This all reminds me of Solomon’s words from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13

  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.
  9. What do workers gain from their toil?
  10. I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
  11. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
  12. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
  13. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

So, where are you on the cycle of life? No matter where you find yourself today, just remember that you don’t stand in your shoes all alone. The God of this vast universe who spoke the world into existence is still attentive to hear your voice. Take the time today to say “thanks” to the one who made you, or to say “hey, remember me?” No matter where you are on your journey, remember that God has a plan to prosper you, and not to harm you. To give you a future and hope. Jeremiah 29:11