In May 2018 I wrote my first contemplation, I never really planned it would be something I would do weekly, but fourteen months on and with over thirty-seven contemplations written, I am always amazed how God works through these little reflections. Occasionally, I get e-mails from people saying how much the contemplation has meant to them or inspired them. Yesterday it was nice to meet someone who has had connections with Christ Church since the 1970s and speak of how last week’s contemplation on being a good neighbour challenged them.  I must just add that following on from my cup of tea with my neighbour Carmen, she has now kindly offered to care for my parent’s fish – Nemo who needed to be re-homed into a bigger pond. Another sign that good neighbours are a blessing!

Which leads me on to today’s contemplation ‘A time for Everything’. This week, I have had the joy of celebrating with a family the birth of twin girls as well as sitting with two families who have lost their loved one. Just yesterday, I was introduced to a lady whose father had been the chaplain at the Royal Liverpool Hospital in the mid 1980s. The Chaplain Rev’d Sam Pratt, one evening had felt the need to go and see a patient who happened to be my dying grandfather and remind him of God’s unconditional love. How amazing after all these years that Rev’d Sam’s daughter should find her way to Christ Church and for us to share the memories of that special time. In all each of these situations I recalled words from the book of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 ‘ A time for everything’.

The writer of Ecclesiastes recognises that our lives are full of a variety of experiences. There are times we find encouraging, exciting and positive – and times that cause us to struggle and search for meaning. There are times we can be active and engaged, and times when we might need to step back a little, to reflect or allow ourselves to be cared for. The fullness of life includes all of these times and seasons. We don’t know how much time we have in this life. We don’t get to choose when some of these seasons will come to us. And we don’t always understand why we have to face some of these things. But we do have choices we can make about our lives and how we use our time – however much of it we have. We can choose how to respond to life’s events. We can choose which activities and people we will devote our time and energy to. We can try and find God, and goodness and beauty, in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

So today if your not familiar with the passage from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 why not take time to read it, meditate on the words and ask yourself the question ‘what season am I in?’ You never know today may just be the perfect timing to understand more about God’s and His unconditional love for you.