A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” Every circumstance we face, every victory we celebrate comes at just the right time. Verses 2-8 illustrates the various seasons that God will bring us through. However, I feel like there should be one more added verse to the ones that are already displayed: A time to learn and a time for application.

This past summer God took me through a learning and growing season. The camp I spent my summer working at tried me in every area of my life. Yet, despite all of that God showed me that the places he puts you are for a reason that you may never fully understand. The fourth week that I was at camp God showed me one of the reasons he put me at this specific camp.

While at camp we had a group of teen mom’s come through. Weeks prior to their arrival my boss asked my co-workers and I if any of us knew American Sign Language (ASL) because this group had a deaf camper coming with them that would need an interpreter. I responded to my boss that I knew ASL but was not fluent. The day these campers arrived I waited in anticipation for this young girl to come, but I never got word that she had arrived. I was quite disappointed. That night I was going to go fight off the wave of sadness that came over me from her not coming when I was stopped just as I was about to head out the door. My co-worker called to me from the back room and I walked back to meet her. She relayed that my other co-worker, Jon, was looking for me. The reasoning for him looking for me was because the girl had indeed arrived but no one knew because her leader didn’t tell the head staff when they arrived. From that night forward I was able to sit in on the services and group times and interpret for this young lady. Although, I wasn’t just her interpreter, I also became her friend that week. I was able to sign to her why Jesus died for us on the cross in a language that she could understand. Yet, God also brought another camper to her and I who was fluent in ASL! So that week not only did I sign for my deaf camper, but I learned new signs from both of the campers as well. The other camper who knew ASL as well helped me sign what I could not that week which was a major blessing because she helped make the message clearer for my camper. Now the best part of this week wasn’t just that I got to sign for this camper, but that I also got to learn her story as well as the others in her cabin. While I was with them I also got to speak words of encouragement to the girls. I walked away from that week thankful and blessed. Two months after their departure I told this story to one of the housekeeping ladies that I had grown close to over the summer. She told me, “God will call you somewhere even if it is for just one person.” I knew she was right. Sometimes God will call you somewhere even if it is for only one person that you are supposed to touch.

I look back at Ecclesiastes and simply think about the seasons of life that God takes us through. The seasons could be short or long. They can seem never ending, or could end in a blink of an eye. However, each season we face reveals something new about God’s plan for our lives. The seasons we face are only a small piece of the bigger picture of our life. God is creating a masterpiece with our story. So if the season you are going through seems rocky with no light piercing through the all-consuming darkness, remember that sunlight always comes through the cracks of a clouded sky. Or perhaps God is taking you through a season of bright blue skies and sunflowers. Praise Him as you walk through this season. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” speaks James 1:2. Keep pressing forward.