Time does not heal all wounds. Of that, I am fairly certain.
But the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that everything is beautiful. And evidently, the writer literally meant every single thing under the sun because, in verses 1-8 of this chapter, he listed (and contrasted) all the seasons of life, both good times and bad.
To every thing 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 pluck up that which is 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;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
When my friend Melanie read this passage in her staff devo one morning last week, I was participating via Zoom as I sat outside on our patio, drinking my coffee and looking at these beautiful Cosmos blossoms.
First of all, it’s important to understand that I planted this container of flowers from seeds way over six months ago, closer to seven, I think. Since I had never planted Cosmos before, I expectantly nurtured them with water, plant food, and prayers. But after all that time, my efforts seemed fruitless – or flowerless.
Honestly, I almost gave up on them in August when their spindly, carrot-top stalks were still so ugly and barren. My neighbor even joked with me each summer afternoon as I futilely tended to the flowerpot – sans flowers.
Then came a new season with its cooler Autumn weather. And lo and behold – I saw buds. Lots of buds. Did I dare to believe the flowerpot full of ugliness might actually bloom? I wasn't quite sure, but I just kept hoping and praying and watching each morning as I sat outside for my quiet time with the Lord.
Look at these blossoms now! This one little pot has produced dozens of flowers, and they are absolutely beautiful.
So, as Melanie read from the Bible last week, that word and that line struck me – beautiful, everything is beautiful.
Immediately, I picked up my Bible and reread the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. In the King James version I was reading, it said that “in His time,” everything is beautiful. In His time.
Wow! I instantly remembered how these Cosmos plants were so very ugly in August.
Almost as ugly as the grief I have felt each morning this summer as I sat outside and cried while praying and reading God’s Word.
Almost as ugly as looking at a grassless mound of dirt in a graveyard right beside the woods where my son used to ramble joyfully.
Almost as ugly as knowing I will never see or hear or hug Chris Lucius again, this side of heaven.
Almost as ugly as the desolate emptiness of a mother left forever on earth without her child.
Almost.
But for one moment during our morning devo, my friend Melanie and these gorgeous Cosmos blossoms reminded me that – in His time – everything is beautiful.
Maybe not today or tomorrow. Maybe not even a year from now. But everything will be beautiful if I am willing to walk according to His time.
In His time!
I am so glad I did not give up on these flowers in my own time, in the raging heat of August. I am thankful I did not pull them up by the roots in defeat. Just look at the beauty I would have missed if I had given up and thrown them in the garbage bin.
Likewise, I cannot give up now – not even in the middle of the raging heat of these mournful, lonely, dark days of grief. I cannot let go of God’s hope, hope that is forever present, silently budding and building in my spirit.
For in His time, even this ugly and barren time (by far, the hardest time I have ever faced) will be beautiful. God has promised and I believe Him.
So, until that day, until He turns my mourning into a beautiful time of dancing, I will just sit in the quiet stillness of His love and enjoy the gift of these Cosmos blossoms that are finally so very beautiful – in His time.
