by Kathy Sinclair
I have always loved the passage from Ecclesiastes 3, which is titled in my Bible, “A Time for Everything”. What profound truths we read in those contrasting couplets, especially the first “a time to be born and a time to die,” something that every single person that has ever lived, has in common.
As we draw towards the end of another extraordinary Covid-impacted year, I find myself reflecting over the last few months. There certainly have been times of weeping, like when the ill health of my father-in-law necessitated a trip back to the UK in the middle of a pandemic. After his passing, there was certainly mourning but also plenty of laughter as we fondly recalled as a family the person he was. There were also times to embrace as we comforted one another, and times to refrain as we navigated our socially distanced world! Certainly, there is a time and a season for everything.
During the year, I was delighted by what is a “a time for everything” story, that a friend of mine shared with me. She was walking in the bush with her 4-year-old grandson. They came to a muddy puddle that filled the whole track, so she scooped him up and lifted him over. As she put him back down, she told him that he was getting big and strong and that soon she wouldn’t be able to lift him like that anymore. Being a deep-thinking child, he asked her why she wouldn’t always be able to lift him up – so she explained that he was still growing and would get bigger and stronger until one day he would be bigger and stronger than her. Then, after another thoughtful pause, he wanted to know if she was still growing bigger and stronger, to which she replied that she was as big and strong as she would get and that as people get really old, they often get less strong.
After walking on a bit further, the child grabbed my friend’s hand and said “Grandma, when I am big and strong, and you need help, I will carry you.”
What a beautiful expression of the seasons of life, a time for everything, coming from the mouth of a child. I found the story deeply moving because to me, this child was unwittingly following in the footsteps of Jesus. The way Jesus lived his life, the stories he told and the people he spent time with, pointed time and time again to the truth that we are happier and healthier individuals when we look out for the needs of others.
As we continue to navigate emerging from Covid and the difficulties that will bring, perhaps now more than ever is a time to care for others, to be more intentional about how we live our lives. In all the many and difficult circumstances that people are facing, what a great time to shine the light of Christ in a hurting world. Where can we simply be an encouragement to others even by smiling and saying hello or offering help? As Ecclesiastes rightly says, “there is a time to tear and a time to mend.” Let’s be part of “the mend!”.
Kathy Sinclair is the BWAA Church Relationship Manager in Western Australia. Kathy joined Baptist World Aid in January 2019. She comes to the role having spent 11-years on staff at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Western Australia, as the Children and Families Pastor. In more recent years, she also held responsibility for overseeing the church’s mission ministry. Kathy has been a speaker for Christian Women Communicating Internationally (CWCI) for several years, where she enjoys the privilege of travelling around Western Australia to teach God’s word. She enjoys visiting church communities to share about the work of Baptist World Aid and how individuals and congregations can respond effectively to God’s heart for the poor and needy. Kathy is married to Mark and has two children and a daughter-in-law.
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