The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "A SPIRITUAL FAMILY" for Tuesday, 13 September 2016 with Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "A SPIRITUAL FAMILY" for Tuesday, 13 September 2016 with Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season,
a right time for every intention under heaven —
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to discard,
7 a time to tear and a time to sew,
a time to keep silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
-------

There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens: . . . a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted.[Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (CEB)]
It was my 47th birthday. I was celebrating it without any family that year because God had called me to serve in a new church in a different state from the rest of my immediate family.
My morning’s Bible reading was the one above; it reminded me that not only had I been uprooted from my comfort zone, but I had been planted into a new church family. And this family had sent me a birthday card and many text messages that made me feel less alone. This church family had been joining me in praising God that I was among them, where God wanted me to be on my birthday.
As the day drew to a close, I realized that I had much to be thankful for. Although I knew that the coming year would not be easy in some ways, I also knew that God had prepared me by reminding me that life has seasons of planting and seasons of uprooting and that none of them is outside of God’s magnificent sovereignty and grace.
The Author: Carol Denereaz (New South Wales, Australia)
Thought for the Day: Who is my spiritual family?
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for making brothers and sisters out of complete strangers and for giving us a spiritual family wherever we may go. Amen.
Prayer focus: SOMEONE WHO HAS WELCOMED ME
-------