Musings: Seasons

In Ecclesiastes 3 we discover 28 seasons to life. I would venture to say that the coronavirus has taken all of us into new seasons of our lives and here we are trying to understand where or what season we might be in. It reminds me of when Jesus told Peter that when he got old he would be taken places he didn’t want to go. Is this us/you?

• John 21:18 (CEV) “I tell you for certain that when you were a young man, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will hold out your hands. Then others will wrap your belt around you and lead you where you don’t want to go.”

There was and is a shift in my life beginning in January. On December 31 Ps Carlo and I went to the Dominican Republic (it was awesome) from there I had my entire year planned with the exception of 1 month. It’s funny as i looked at all the events/traveling that was planned I kept on praying Lord is this what you want me to do?

Well, the answer came. I was scheduled to go to Romania the end of January when I felt I was not to go but stay here and be a part of our church’s overflow homeless shelter we oversee/run from January through mid April. I contacted the pastors and explained why I wasn’t coming. My staying was important. 

Then it was decided it was time for our 94 year old father to move back to Massachusetts and to have him live in assisted living. He had been living alone in a trailer for a few years after our mother had passed. He began to have some difficulty with his mind and we all wanted him closer to be with him. So within a w few days I flew to Florida. I spent about a week there getting things in order and preparing his trailer to be sold (today we will pass papers on the trailer). Flew home and the next day I was off to India for 10 days.

My trip to India after 14 years was extraordinary. I had originally planned to be there 2 weeks but we changed it to 10 days. It was divine providence because the day after I flew out of Bangalore they shut the airport down.

Arrived home and I self quarantined myself. With the quarantine my father started have signs of dementia and the assisted living staff only allowed our sister in. What a sacrifice on her behalf. Then 2 weeks ago the assisted living called and said they couldn’t manage our father. You can imagine how that has changed multiple things. I now have spent hours upon hours trying to get assistance to find our dad a place to be care for. It’s all very complicated in the first place and then through in the coronavirus.

Meanwhile the government shut down all international flights which forced me to cancel a number of planned trips. 

Things are shifting all over the place. Our church purchases another church (multiple miracles) and we began getting our church ready for a possible site to be used by the City of Fall River for a coronavirus shelter of some sort. If that wasn’t enough shifting I am in a strange season on top of everything else.

I am asking the Lord for understanding and definition/clarity. I feel I am in verse 7 of Ecclesiastes 3.  

• Ecclesiastes 3:7 “A time to keep silence, And a time to speak”                                                  
  
  I really don’t have a lot to say. Besides the busyness of life right now I haven’t been writing much because frankly I have nothing to say.

It’s a time to keep silence. This is such a strange place to be. So if I don’t write a lot its simply the season and God is adjusting.

Blessings,
PB