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Streams trickle into a creek, then the creek ends by pouring itself into a river. The river pours into an even larger river and one day empties into an ocean.
An acorn grows into a sapling and eventually into a mighty oak before being transformed into a lovely piece of furniture — which will one day have to be discarded.
Seasons of life end. Children grow up and leave home. Grandparents and parents pass. From the nursery to the nursing home, the cycle of life repeats itself.
Everything is for a season.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die . . .” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV)
Perhaps we could do a better job acknowledging the brevity of the season before landing the job, buying the house, getting healthy, or moving to the perfect location. It will end one day. What seems like a depressing reality can actually bring freedom to fully soak in the moment at hand.
We are given windows of time to experience fully. But windows close, like it or not. Look now. Enjoy the view. Learn the lesson. Teach the lesson. Throw out the bad and keep the good. This window will and should close — that’s a healthy life. (How awkward to be middle-aged and stuck in adolescence!)
Windows of time are closing, even as they open.
Gravity has no mercy.
Look long now. Drink in the beauty deep.
Bask in the moment this window brings.
Search for four-leaf clovers and linger over wild roses —
Before leaves wither and petals drop.
Run barefoot through dewy grass and chase sunsets with a butterfly net —
before grass dries brittle and wings of this day lie flutter-less.
Kiss that baby cheek. Cherish cherub hands and feet.
Before whiskers scruff the face and feet flee far from home.
This moment in time, embrace. Then, let go.
Lest heart be caught — turned to salt — and miss the next good thing.
There is grief in letting go. Whether the loss is quick or slow-coming for years, grief is real.
I cried the day we made the offer on our current house. Grieved the loss of the life we knew in our former town with our growing boys. Emptying the shelves was sad, but it was so the right thing to do. I couldn’t let my emotions overrule the right, best decision. Living in our new location has enriched our lives for this season of life. Three years close to family with parents nearby has been amazing, and I am grateful. (And we love our house here!)
I cried again the day our Papa sold his cattle — it was the beginning of the end. I had a few years of letting go before he passed.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart . . .” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Live each page of life to the fullest because each page will end. Relish every chapter because chapters will end, and eventually, the book.
Ah . . . but for those who know the Lord, it’s not an ending, but a beginning. When the book we’re currently living ends, it will be the beginning of life with Christ forever. We carry this hope with us, always.
Someday death will be swallowed up by life. No more endings. Real life will begin, with no more goodbyes . . .
And no more letting go.
Patty Perkins is a Contributor for Humble Faith Ministries. She enjoys long walks with her husband and gathering friends and family around her kitchen table. She and her husband love living back home in Kentucky and are grateful for their growing family. They are blessed with two grown, married sons, and one grandchild.