“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Eccl 3:1).
On the first day of school, one of the teachers at our school led a beautiful prayer reflection with her students. After reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, (with its “time to be born and a time to die,” she asked the children to share their own examples of “times to” with the class.
I was impressed by their responses.
Each offering clearly reflected both the children’s experiences and the typical behaviours or expectations in their young lives. Some were variations of the examples given in the Bible; others were simply good, honest answers.
Among their “times to,” I’ll focus on three examples.
“A time to hurry and a time to slow down.”
Children often receive mixed messages regarding speed. Adults remind them to stop running in the hallways while also telling them not to dawdle. They are told to hurry up and finish their chores, homework, or dinner, while simultaneously being told to take their time to write neatly, check their answers, vacuum under the couch, or chew properly. This can seem confusing, but most children seem to innately take these contradictions in stride.
We all need to hurry, and we all need to slow down. For both our physical and spiritual health, we need variations in speed. We need to raise our heart rates with exercise to maintain our cardiovascular health; at the same time, when stressed or too busy, we require relaxation to lower our blood pressure.
We likewise need to exercise our faith by putting it into action. Not knowing the day or the hour of Christ’s return, we must live in an almost “hurried” state of doing all we can to be ready; we must also slow down and reflect on God’s call in our lives. What are our motives for being busy? Are they healthy? Are they purposeful or grace-filled? Only when we slow down can we prioritize the best ways to use our time.
“A time to work and a time to play.”
Children seem to have a better handle on this concept than adults. Children work because they have to, but fit work in around their play and extracurricular activities. Adults, on the other hand, even if they have the best intentions of spending time with friends or engaging in hobbies, tend to work first and then run out of time or energy for play. In the lives of many adults, myself included, the work:play ratio is extremely unbalanced. Admittedly, if it weren’t for my children’s activities, I would often spend my evenings and weekends working on household chores or schoolwork, rather than getting outside. What a blessing that I am surrounded by children in my home and in my job to inspire me to complement my work with play.
“A time to talk and a time to listen.”
A complaint I hear repeatedly from my colleagues is that children just don’t listen. I hate to say it, but I feel that this is partially due to their maturity and partially due to the poor example of today’s adults. I know I’m guilty of answering texts when my own family members are trying to tell me something. I also know that – in my failure to slow down when necessary – I don’t always give children at school enough processing time. I help too much by prompting answers rather than simply waiting and listening to the silence that is sometimes necessary when someone is formulating their thoughts.
This same message is pertinent in our prayer lives as well. While we must talk to God, through both formal prayer and familiar conversation, it’s also imperative that we listen to him. Although we may lose patience and want to fill in the blanks ourselves, waiting for answers that may never come in our lifetime, we must listen for God’s voice in the silence.
At our staff retreat this past August, we were asked to create a personal goal for the school year. Mine was to reflect. The children I work with have already helped me along my path by inspiring me with three “time to” oppositions, as I strive to find balance and to seek moments of reflection in my life.
