A time for every purpose

When I was growing up my mom had the following hung up on the wall in the kitchen and I read it every morning as I sat down for breakfast.

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what 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; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing.


This poem comes from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. The book of Ecclesiastes, which for those who don't know, are the musings of a King of Jerusalem as he relates his experiences and draws lessons from them, often self-critical. 

My mom like many others believed that there was a purpose in life and that these few words summarized the seasons and the up's and downs of life that we all face.

We all face times to weep and times to mourn. These events are part of human existence but for every setback, disappointment and heartbreak perhaps you should ask yourself, "What does this create the opportunity for?" As the poem above states, there is also a time to dance, a time to embrace and a time to build up, which means for every disappointment, and heartache there is also an opportunity.

And this is the gift of life, everything has a reason and opportunity is always just around the corner.