Ecclesiastes
1: 1- 12
The words of
the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity
of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” What
advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? A
generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains
forever. Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its
place it rises there again.
Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind
continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. All
the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where
the rivers flow, there they flow again. All
things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled
with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, and that which has
been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is
there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has
existed for ages which were before us. There
is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later
things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who
will come later still.
As I read this, I
didn’t know whether to feel discouraged or to feel like my life is normal. I always find that January is the toughest month for our
homeschool. I feel like everything is futile! Yes, the “sun rises and the sun sets” and I’m
still behind! “All rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full.” Isn’t that
a picture of not making progress in our curriculum? “All things are wearisome” is exactly how I’m feeling about now!
We've just finished the holidays. The
adrenaline rush is over. Maybe the decorations are put away. Or maybe not. But January 4th is
coming and I need to get back to schooling and my home is still looking like
"old" festive. Some days, when it isn’t all put away, and I can
see the cob webs creeping into the corners of the garland and my home reminds
me of The Haunted Mansion decorated for Christmas.
Another reason for feeling discouraged is that my
student isn’t as far along in his curriculum as I had planned out last August,
and semester reports are coming up. And we definitely develop bad habits
over Christmas break! There is just
something about having siblings home and having them START a movie at 10:30
PM!
I turn further in Ecclesiastes, for my
encouragement:
Ecclesiastes 3:
1 - 8 There is an appointed time for
everything. And there is a time
for every event
under heaven— A time to give birth and a time
to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time
to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a
time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time
to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew
together; A time to be
silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
Ah, there is a time for everything! A time to bond
with family. A time to get extra PE credits playing golf with the brothers. A
time to do Bible study in front of the fireplace, in our pajamas, with hot
chocolate and left over whipped cream and sprinkles. A time to see the latest
Hobbit movie.
In 30 years, I’d rather have my son remember the time he
spent making memories with his brothers, rather than me being uptight about the
school schedule! The month of January is just kind of that way. And sometimes,
January is the time to teach our children to be grateful that there is a time
for everything. And we can be grateful
God gave us seasons to celebrate what we can do differently to bring peace to
our home.
