To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NJKV
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
With the new year, my mind goes back to this, and the Byrds song (Turn! Turn! Turn!). I don’t know what my beliefs are anymore, I’m still working on that, but Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks to me. It’s quite easily one of my favourite Bible verses.
The last year has been hell for me. Stress tortured myself and my family, and lead to my health breaking down. I’ve had a cold for two months now. Not the same one, ‘natch. But I’ve been sick and unable to do shit all for that period of time.
This year, as I’ve done for the past few years, I’ve picked a word to guide myself in the year ahead. This idea comes from the One Little Word project
Last year it was reclaim. I wasn’t too successful in it, but I did try hard to reclaim things that had been taken from me – mentally, physically, and emotionally.
The word I chose this year came from a conversation with my friend Terri (of Terra Firma Press). It didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks, but more like a feeling of “Yes, that is it!” as we talked.
The song has been running on my mental jukebox since then. Reminding me that there is a time for all the feelings that I have had and that holding on to things that I’ve outgrown or that hurt me, while I may love them, isn’t a healthy thing. And to find peace, to find health – mental, physical, and emotional – I need to let go, their time has passed and it is time for something else.
As I close out this blog entry, I thought I’d treat you to a nice cover of the song by another New Brunswicker 🙂