Friday, October 16, 2009

What season is this?


Tonight I am thinking a lot about the beginning of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 get, 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 of war, and a time of peace."

I am clearly in a season, but at this exact moment I am having trouble determining what season that might be.

Yesterday, I took my Dad to have a tumor removed from his bladder. He found out about it while my Grandma was dying. He will have the biopsy results in a few weeks. According to my google search (ha), bladder tumors in white men over 50 are more common and typically those tumors are non - cancerous. So, we'll go with that...I'm trying really hard for my mind to not automatically go to worst case scenario (which I have gotten really good at since losing our baby). The good news is that I can handle being in hospitals for long stretches of time, I am comfortable looking death in the eye, and I am somewhat okay with the fact that this life is fleeting. I am not really that happy about any of this, but am coming to the realization that there has been a huge loss of innocence in my life these past handful of years...and these things that I am now okay with are really muscles I've had to build to manage my earthly life. I try not to think about any one thing to long...like how my 8 year old nephew, CJ, has a terminal illness (Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy) or how his Grandma (my sis-in-law's mother) has bone cancer, or if I'll ever get to have my own child. I can't visit these places too long because it gets a little dark in there.
There is one bible verse that I rest in every time I find myself in that unlit cavern. This verse has saved me from being depressed and hopeless. This one small verse packs a perfect punch.

Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Such a simple yet powerful statement. Instant perspective.

I love reading. It's what I do. A shelf full of books equals happiness in my world. One day after feeling lost, I felt God's presence and I had this sense of knowing that I could read all the books in the world, but unless I read His book I would always be lost. The bible used to intimidate me, but now I hunger for it. Everything you ever need is in that book. I have not read it in its entirety. I don't read it like I read other books...from beginning to end. I just open it and that (very much alive) book speaks to me every single time. The more I read the bible, the more I find God. The less I read the bible, the less I find God. We are meant to use His book. It's a beacon.

After writing here tonight, I realized that when I look back on my life that this will be the season where I drew nearest to God. The season where I developed faith, trust, hope. Pretty words, but the boot camp to attaining them ain't no joke! The season where I haven't let a day pass without thinking about God. The relationship used to be like 'game on' ... 'game off' ... now it is strictly GAME ON! The season where I learned that no matter what happens here, everything really will be ok.

1 comment:

Ashley C. said...

You have been through so much, Kris! Looks like God has given you the perfect size cross because you always find a way to make it sit comfortably on your shoulders. :-]