Life's Beautiful Rhythm
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4
My friend shared something with me recently that hit me right between the eyes. She said, "Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary."
That got me thinking about how we need what I call a theology that's sturdy enough for the awful and stimulating enough for the ordinary, so we can make it back to that oh so satisfying amazing.
You know, I've been around long enough to see this rhythm play out in my own life and in the lives of countless people I've pastored over the years. Too soon old and too late smart, as they say, but I've learned that life really does come in seasons, just like Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes.
Let me tell you about a man named Horatio Spafford. In 1871, this successful Chicago lawyer lost almost everything in the Great Chicago Fire. Two years later, he sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him to Europe while he finished up some business. Their ship, the Ville du Havre, was struck by another vessel in the middle of the Atlantic. His wife survived, but all four of his precious daughters drowned in those dark, cold waters.
When Horatio received the telegram with just two words, "Saved alone," his world crumbled. This was awful beyond imagination. But as he sailed to meet his grieving wife, passing over the very spot where his children had died, he penned these words: "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul."
Now that's a theology sturdy enough for the awful.
But here's what I've learned in my years of walking with folks through their valleys and mountaintops: God doesn't just show up in the dramatic moments. He's there in the ordinary Tuesday morning when you're drinking your coffee and wondering what the point of it all is. He's there in the mundane moments when you're folding laundry for the hundredth time this month. He's there in the routine that sometimes feels like you're just going through the motions.
The apostle Paul knew something about this rhythm. He wrote, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:12-13).
See, Paul had a theology that worked in prison and in palaces, in shipwrecks and in success. He understood that the amazing seasons are gifts to be treasured, the awful seasons are classrooms for character, and the ordinary seasons are where we learn to find God in the everyday rhythms of life.
History is just HIS story, and we're all part of this beautiful, messy, amazing narrative that God is writing. Some chapters are breathtaking, some are heartbreaking, and some are just the steady, faithful plodding that gets us from one chapter to the next.
So today, wherever you find yourself in life's rhythm, remember that God is with you. If you're in an amazing season, breathe it in deep and give thanks. If you're holding on through something awful, know that this too shall pass and God's grace is sufficient. And if you're in one of those ordinary, routine stretches, look for God in the small moments, because He's there, preparing you for whatever comes next.
After all, we serve a God who turns water into wine, mourning into dancing, and ashes into beauty. And sometimes, He does His most important work in the quiet, ordinary moments when nobody's watching but Him.
Prayer: Lord, help us to trust You in every season of life. Give us eyes to see Your hand in the amazing times, strength to endure the awful times, and faith to find You in the ordinary times. Remind us that You are writing a beautiful story with our lives, even when we can't see the next chapter. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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