Cheryl and I enjoy our locust/grape-vine, rose-covered pergola because of its natural beauty and attraction for all kinds of birds – including my favorite: humming birds. But most of all, it reminds us that there is a time to give birth, to plant, to build up, to laugh, to dance, to gather stones together, to embrace, to seek, to keep, to sew, to keep silence, to love and enjoy peace (Ecc. 3:1-8). It really is ok to enjoy what God has given when the opposite is so true. When you watch the news it seems that all there is, is a time “to die, to pluck up, to kill, to break down, to weep, to mourn, to cast away stones, to refrain from embracing, to lose, to cast away, to tear, to speak, to hate, to make war” (same text). No wonder we fight against cynicism.

So for today, turn away from the false guilt of enjoying what God has made just because there is so much devastation. Enjoy. Give Thanks. Be Amazed. Create. Relax, and put your hope again in Christ who will make all things new some day.