Morning Devotional
August 10, 2003
“A Time for Everything”  
by Don Emmitte

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NLT).

The average American will spend six months siting at stoplights, eight months opening junk mail, one year looking for misplaced objects, two years unsuccessfully returning phone calls, four years doing housework, five years waiting in line, and six years eating!
 
What a way to spend your life! I began thinking about the time today as I drove back from Ft. Worth. There is nothing at all unusual with my being on that highway. We live just fifteen minutes west of Ft. Worth and often travel into the larger city to shop. What was unusual about this drive was where I had been. We had just finished moving Aaron, our youngest son into his apartment for the start of school at TCU this semester. He stayed at home his first year of college, though now was the time for him to “move out.” It was his choice, and a good one at that. However, the wisdom of his choice to move away from home did not lessen the feelings of nostalgia on my part.
 
How could nearly twenty years pass so quickly? Where did the time go? As with my other sons, I have learned so much from Aaron. God has used the experiences we have had together to teach me so much about life. I hope that I have given as much as I have received.
 
I found the following poem recently and thought I’d pass it on today:
 
When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept.
When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked.
When I became a full-grown man, time ran.
And later as I older grew, time flew.
Soon I shall find while traveling on, time gone.
 
Perhaps you should think on the time that you have left to do and say all those things that need to be done and said to your children. I am so thankful for each of my sons. I miss them when I am away from them. Whether yours are young or old, take a few moments and celebrate with them their growth. Even when they may have done better (we all could have done better), or when they could have done more (we all could have done more), or even when you disagreed (we are, after all very different), tell them of your love and confidence in who they are. Bless them today with a kind word and a loving gesture. You will get more than you give. There is a time for everything. Perhaps its time for this today!