As October is coming to an end, I notice my garden is coming to life. A lot of flowers (a lot of weeds) and berries are being pollinated and my vegetables are thriving. It gives me a different vibe for halloween compared to my northern hemisphere friends, which as we know is autumn, with cool weather and pumpkin spice lattes (yum).
But this article isn’t about halloween, I’ll tackle that topic next time.
Weddings
Recently my life has been consumed by weddings. I LOVE weddings, especially when it’s my close friends and family. Firstly I had my own fourth wedding anniversary this month, my parents' are tomorrow as I write this and both last weekend and this weekend, my husband and I have had the opportunity to be a part of our friends weddings.
Weddings go hand in hand with spring. It’s a new beginning, a new life together. There are flowers, beautiful photos, people coming together to celebrate life. Beautiful!
But, sometimes these celebrations coincide with death. Death is a part of life and also an occasion to celebrate. All in the same week I have also attended a funeral. This has left me reflecting on this season and all its layered meanings.
A time for everything
Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 1-13 explains it perfectly. I will quote a part of it below -
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which was planted; A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break 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….”
As I look back further over this year I suppose we are all tempted to search for hidden meaning in the collective chaos we have all experienced. Perhaps this is just a series of random, unfortunate, bad luck events? Maybe it’s climate change?
Either way, perhaps this verse will also give you a sense of grounding in faith that God is with us through it all.
Chanell Diaz is a member of The Salvation Army in New Zealand. She and her husband Ronald both work as child care workers and Chanell is also a qualified Youth Worker through Praxis. Chanell has a heart for justice and enjoys creating art and writing in her spare time.