Every Single Season
“His goodness exists in both the dancing and the mourning. He is there in the weeping and the laughing. He is ever-present and always good. God’s character isn’t conditional—it doesn’t shift with our circumstances.”
“There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:
a time to give birth and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to uproot;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to tear down and a time to build;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;
a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to be silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 CSB)
I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few days about what this next year may bring. It’s natural, right? Now is the time to reflect on 2022 and make grand resolutions. Now is the chance to start over and be better. But to be truthful, I don’t know that I’ve ever kept a single New Year’s Resolution. They just aren’t for me! For those of you who have successfully kept yours, I seriously commend you!
The truth is that none of us can predict what could come our way in 2023. Will it bring peace? Health? Joy? Opportunity? Or will it groan under the weight of sickness or loss, of stress and fear? Before I woke up on January 1, 2021, I never imagined I would begin that year experiencing the profound loss of my stepmom. New Year’s Day will always be marked for me—a reminder of what was and what will never be again. There’s a solemn grief that swells inside of me on this day.
I’ve been reading Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes this week, and I can’t help but wonder what he remembered as he spoke of the seasons. When he recalls a time for new life, of planting and healing, of building and laughing, of dancing—what memories did he treasure? What events? What years were marked by blessing?
And what experiences did he painfully remember when he recounted the dying, the uprooting, the killing, the tearing down and the weeping? Did a certain year live on in his memory, always marked by loss?
We often use this passage to communicate that life is full of ups, downs, and unknowns. But can I be honest? This passage used to give me a little anxiety. I like the good parts—the new life, the dancing, the healing. But the other half of these verses? I want to avoid those parts at all costs. And for me, this passage served as a reminder that the worst of these things would happen to me one day.
I was missing the common thread woven throughout all of it—through all of scripture and life.
What I now know because I have walked through some of the worst is that God is present in both. His goodness exists in both the dancing and the mourning. He is there in the weeping and the laughing. He is ever-present and always good. God’s character isn’t conditional—it doesn’t shift with our circumstances. This is so hard for some of us—for me—to wrap my mind around because our character does so often depend on circumstances. But God is steady. God is kind in the reaping and in the plenty, but He is gracious when our harvest fails—when we are flooded with loss.
2021 is marked for me. It’s the year I will look back on and remember things I don’t really want to remember. Maybe it was marked for you too in some way. Or maybe another year dwells in your memory, serving as a reminder of something you lost. Our Father makes all things good. Even 2021 revealed His love and care in my life. I can now look back on it and see God’s hand there even in the raging loss. While you may not see it, God’s hand is present in yours too.
2023 may bring different circumstances for all of us. But we don’t have to approach it in fear. We can trust that our God holds it all together. He loves you. He cares for you. And He is there in every single season.