a word in season

For everything, there is a Season. Do you know that? Based on this principle, the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.

Let me tell you a story called "The Magic Thread".

Once there was a boy named Peter. Peter did not enjoy going to school and he was
forever daydreaming.

“Peter, what are you dreaming about this time?” his teacher would say to him.
“I’m thinking about what I’ll be when I grow up,” Peter replied.
“Be patient. There’s plenty of time for that. Being grown up isn’t all fun, you know,” the teacher said.

But Peter found it hard to enjoy whatever he was doing at the moment, and was always
hankering for the next thing. In the winter, he longed for summer. In the summer, he
looked forward to skating, sledding and the warm fires of winter. He was never content.

One day, he was walking through the woods. He sat down by a tree and was dreaming
about the future, when he fell asleep. When he woke up, there was an old woman and in
her hand she held a silver ball, with a golden thread dangling from it.

“See what I have got here, Peter,” she said, offering the ball to him.
“What is it?” he asked curiously.
“This is your life thread. Do not touch the golden thread and time will pass normally. But if you wish time to pass more quickly, give the thread a pull and an hour will pass like a second. But I warn you, once the tread has been pulled out, it cannot be pushed back in again. The ball is for you; if you want it,” the old lady replied.
Peter said joyfully, “Give it to me!” He put the ball in his pocket and ran home.

The following day at school, he started to get bored with the lesson. He thought, if only
it was time to go home…He decided to pull the string. And just like that…he was home.
Peter was overjoyed. “This is great! How easy life would be now!” From that day forth
he began to pull the thread, just a little, every day.

One day, it occurred to him that if he gave it a harder tug, school would be over
altogether. So that night he did. The next morning he awoke to find himself a trained
carpenter in town. He loved his new life. But sometimes payday seemed so far away.
So he would pull just a little each week.

During that time, Peter met a girl. He couldn’t wait to marry her. So, one night, he gave
the string a big tug and when he woke up, it was his wedding day. On the day of his wedding, everyone, including Peter, was happy. At the wedding feast he glanced over at his mother. He noticed for the first time how gray her hair was. Peter felt a pang of guilt that he had pulled the thread so often.

Several months later, his new wife announced that she was going to have a child. Peter was overjoyed and could hardly wait… You know what happened. He pulled the string and there was a beautiful child.
When the child was born, he felt that he could never want for anything again. But
sometimes the child was ill or cried through the sleepless night. So Peter would give the
thread a little tug, just so the baby would be well and happy again.

Then hard times came. Business was bad. Peter found himself again dissatisfied and discontent. It seemed as soon as one trouble was solved another seemed to grow in its place. One day, he thought how much easier life would be if all his children were grown up and had careers of their own. So Peter gave the thread a mighty
tug.

The following day, Peter woke up. He looked in the mirror. His hair was almost white. He looked at his wife and she was old and very ill. His parents were now gone. He felt so sad and guilty that he decided to go for a walk in the forest to think things over. He noticed on his walk that all the trees had grown up. It was hard to even find the path. He was old and his bones were weak so he sat down by a tree and fell asleep.

He awoke to someone calling his name, “Wake up, Peter. You will be late for school. You were sleeping like the dead!” When he awoke, his youthful mother was bending over him, shaking him gently. As Peter walked to school that morning, he noticed what a bright spring morning it was. It was the kind of morning when it felt good to be alive.

Someone once said:
“I used to be dying to get out of college.
Then I was dying to get married.
Then I was dying to get a good job.
Then I was dying to get a promotion.
Then I was dying to get the kids off to college.
Then I was dying to retire.
Now, I’m dying and I realize that I forgot to live.”

With these things in mind, I believe one of the most important biblical teachings is found
in Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Every single day, even the hard ones, has its blessings.


THIS MOMENT
I may never see tomorrow; there’s no written guarantee,
And the things that happened yesterday belong to history,
I cannot predict the future, I cannot change the past,
I have just the present moment, I must treat it as my last,

I must use this moment wisely for it soon will pass away,
And be lost to me forever as part of yesterday,
I must exercise compassion, help the fallen to their feet,
Be a friend unto the friendless, make an empty life complete,

The unkind things I do today may never be undone,
And friendships that I fail to win may nevermore be won,
I may not have another chance on bended knee to pray,
And thank God with a humble heart for giving me this day.