Time

April 6, 2020

For everything there is a season...
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.

– From Ecclesiastes 3

I couldn’t find my planner this morning. My laptop, my phone, and my planner are the primary tools of my ministry. I typically take all three with me to meetings and to my office (wherever I choose to work that day). But it wasn’t with my computer or my phone. When I found my planner, it was laying open to the week of March 16. I had not looked at it in three weeks. 

Time has taken on a strange meaning. I feel like we are waking up to a new reality almost every day. It started with no public worship. Then no school. Then reminders everywhere to keep your distance. Then a stay at home order. And now, wear a mask.

And the virus still spreads. More people get sick every day. More people die. And it hits closer and closer to home. It is truly a time to mourn. A time to weep. So much seems to be breaking down.

And yet. I went looking for my planner this morning because yesterday I reached out to the mom of my reading buddy at B. Everett Jordan Elementary School and asked if we could resume reading together this week. And the answer was yes! We will read together as always this Wednesday – just using a different format. I wanted to write that good news down in my planner.

New growth from seeds planted last week.

While there is a deep heaviness in my heart in these uncertain times, we have been given an extraordinary gift. The gift of time. Time to plant new seeds and watch them grow. Time to strengthen relationships through this shared experience. Time to be creative about how we choose to be together as a community. It is a time to build up. It is even a time to laugh. Yes, and to dance.

It seems to me that the fullness of time comes when we hold laughter and weeping together. My body doesn’t quite know how to live that truth today – the grief is so heavy. Still, I can see the promise of something new – the possibility of this time. So for today, for this time I have been given, I will weep and plant seeds. I will rest in the silence and sing out loud. I will let my dance intertwine both lament and joy.