Author Archives: Patricia Ann

Undying Love

Posted on by

Last December I wrote about visiting a couple in their eighties whose love was as strong then as when they were first married sixty-one years ago. Wilda had been quite ill for a long time, and sadly passed away yesterday, but their love will never die.

GRIEVE NOT FOR ME

Grieve not for me though I am gone

For I am with you still

God grant you strength to carry on

And understand His will.

A soft tear shed from time to time

Will ease your sorrowed mind

But live your life as fully

As you helped me live mine.

Time will heal the hurting heart

Faith will see you through

There’s still a life for you to live

With courage I leave you.

Remember me with thoughts of peace

Live each day with your heart

Grieve not for me for though I’m gone

We’re never far apart.

©1981 Patricia Ann Boyes

Who is He?

Posted on by

While little ones are scampering to fill their baskets with coloured eggs  left by that rascally bunny;  while tiny, yellow, peeping chicks are being fondled, and while hot-cross buns are being enjoyed along with that first cup of steaming coffee…let us not forget Him.

He was born to save us. (Matthew 1:21)

He lived to save us. (Luke 19:10)

He died to save us. (John 3:16)

He lives again to save us. (Romans 19:9)

Who is He?

He is Jesus.

He is the reason for the season!

Wishing everyone a blessed and happy Easter Day.

Life is for Learning

Posted on by

Here is something I found in one of my journals. Unfortunately I didn’t make note of the source, but think it is worth sharing.

Your life is a learning process–you can become wiser only by learning. Sometimes you might have to attract making a painful mistake to learn something important, but after the mistake, you have far greater wisdom. Wisdom cannot be bought with money–it can only be acquired by living life. With wisdom comes strength, courage, knowing, and an ever increasing peace.

This post is a duplicate of one titled About Wisdom posted on August 19, 2014. I didn’t do this intentionally, but I think I’ll let it stand, mainly because Solomon’s wisdom has been a recent topic.

 

 

A Time to Love

Posted on by

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:8)

Is there ever a time not to love? There are many kinds of love and many people to love. We love our families, our spouses, our friends; we love babies, our pets, our jobs; we love to sing, to dance, to play, to eat, to sleep; love encompasses a myriad of things. And hate? I even hate that word! There should never be a time to hate unless it’s all the things that go against the grains of humanity. I strongly urged my children to intensely dislike something or someone rather than entertain the emotion of hate.

War and Peace…a great book by Leo Tolstoy! There have been many times of war, both in Biblical times and in our world today. Does there need to be a time of war? Some say yes and I guess it’s true, but a time of peace is to be sought after, longed for, and I suppose…fought for.

The way I see it, love begets peace, and hate begets war. But Solomon says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

 

A Time to Rend

Posted on by

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; (Ecclesiastes 3:7)

For some reason that word rend always reminds me of Easter and the day of the Crucifixion when “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38) because rend means tear. There was a reason for that tearing and the rend was never to be sewn. There is a time to sew, but that was not the time.

How many times have we said something we wished we hadn’t? And how many times have we not spoken out when we should have? It’s that simple…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; both in King Solomon’s time and in ours.

Tomorrow: A Time to Love

A Time to Get and a Time to Lose

Posted on by

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

That word “get” is a real catch-all; we get gifts, we get sick, we get well, we get well known, we get forgotten. There seems to be no end to what we can get…and the Bible tells us to “get wisdom” (Proverbs: 4:7) And then Solomon talks about a time to lose. In his case, because he didn’t use his wisdom wisely, reverting back to the “ways of the world”, Solomon lost God’s respect. A time to get and a time to lose.

To keep and to cast away reminds me of clothing, unworn for years, hanging in a closet, until the time comes get rid of it…”cast it away”. It happened to me just a few days ago. My youngest daughter had given me a dress that I had admired on her. That was 1997! After wearing it many times over the next few years, it somehow found its way to the back of my closet. Now, in still good shape, that dress has been passed on to a charity organization. A time to keep, and a time to cast away.

Tomorrow: A Time to Rend

A Time to Embrace

Posted on by

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; (Ecclesiastes 3:5)

To me there is always a time to embrace. In my mind embracing means hugging and I LOVE hugging! The only time to refrain from embracing is when we’re busy with other things…and of course when it might be inappropriate to embrace. As usual I’m not sure what Solomon had in mind with this verse, but it keeps my brain active. Now about the stones…

How many times have we stopped to pick up a stone just to toss it into the distance…or to skip it across the water of a river, lake or ocean? And how many times have we walked along a beautiful sandy beach gathering smooth stones into a cloth sack or a basket? Some of my little great-grandchildren love to play with stones; sorting, piling, counting, or just caressing the stony smoothness.

However, the Bible can be quite allegorical and the stones may not mean stones at all.  I’ll leave that for the scholars, though, because to me stones are stones and I even have a few around my house as conversation pieces.

Tomorrow: A Time to Get and a Time to Lose

 

 

A Time to Weep

Posted on by

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (Ecclesiastes 3:4)

Weeping and mourning go hand in hand at any funeral service, and laughing and dancing are a sure thing at weddings.

But have you noticed how weeping sometimes gives way to laughter after a funeral service, when the mourned one is remembered lovingly, with humorous traits being recalled? A time to weep, and a time to laugh.

Some cultures even celebrate their deceased with dancing. Nelson Mandela’s funeral was one of those, as mourners danced through the funeral home prior to the service.  A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

We have all had our times of weeping, mourning, laughing and dancing…it’s part of life…in Solomon’s time and in ours. The way I see it, these are all a celebration of life, one way or another.

Monday: A Time to Embrace

A Time to Heal

Posted on by

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up (Ecclesiastes 3:3)

King Solomon, in his wisdom, knew what he was talking about in this verse. I, on the other hand can only guess at what he meant and/or what it would mean in today’s world; but this is the way I see it:

A time to kill could mean capital punishment, war, or even the killing of fish, fowl and animals for food.

A time to heal could mean healing after a lengthy illness, a period of grieving or a spiritual lapse.

A time to break down could mean demolishing unsafe buildings or dividing walls; i.e. the Berlin wall (1989)

A time to build up could mean rebuilding after demolition, destruction and/or disasters.

My grandmother killed chickens to feed her family.

My body was healed of lung cancer.

And then there was 9/11.

We have all witnessed the building up of devastated communities after natural disasters in many parts of our world.

The way I see it, A Time for Everything is not only Biblical verse, it is a way of life.

Tomorrow: A Time to Weep

A Time for Everything

Posted on by

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap that which is planted. The Bible (KJV) I am taking this verse from specifies plucking up rather than reaping, but as you will see, reap more aptly suits my purposes for this post.

Birth and death are the only two certain things that every human being on the face of the earth shares. Today, though, I want to emphasize birth. There have been twenty-five births in my own personal family (excluding in-laws), since 1954 and a new birth is on the horizon. After a winter of planting, my seventh great-grandchild will be born in the season of Fall. In other words, that which was planted in January will be reaped in September.

Seasons come and go and each season has its own purpose, just as the seasons of our lives. I am happy to be in the winter of my life and still experiencing the joys of new birth.

Thank you Laura and Cam for adding a new bloom to the garden of life.

Tomorrow: A Time to Heal