by: Carole L. Haines
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.
2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 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. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
We can see from the Scripture above that life has natural rhythms. I believe God has rhythms and if we can learn to stay in step with Him, we experience great peace. I’ve been seeking to find the rhythm of this new time in my life. Old patterns just feel clunky now, they don’t fit into what God is doing here. I have been seeking to find that smooth and steady stream I have been so used to. Long mornings, lingering pauses, soft landings. But Life seems to be in constant motion lately, moving so fast that I forget to slow my breathing during times of rest. It’s as if I’m hiking uphill but forget to stop at the top. I continue to walk in place as if on an escalator. It seems I have come out of rhythm with God. I am out of breath, so I think I will sit here and I just listen in silence to the sounds outside at night..
The stars twinkle in the sky outside as they bow to the soon rising Sun. Shining for as long as they can before yielding to big brother. I hear the soft, rap, rap, rap of a woodpecker in the distance as he builds his new home for the Spring. Mountains surround me with melting snow as wildflowers push through the soil and leaves, to bloom once again at the end of Winter’s chill. The tapping of the computer keys as I write this reflection, coffee cooling by my bedside table. Life brings with it new rhythms, most things don’t stay the same for long.
So how does one stay in Rhythm with God? How can the finite stay in step with the infinite? I am finding it is simply by picking up where we left off. When we run ahead of God, we soon tire and He comes walking up beside us, never winded, never tired, perfectly at ease. When we lag behind distracted by the World’s sparkles, we soon find He has never left us, but slowed His pace to keep us near to Himself. God is faithful, His mercies are new every morning. He never runs ahead or lags behind, that is our choice. He is always right here with us every step of the way.
hisshadowings.com 