Cara Sandlin: Just Believe and Let the Seasons Change

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

I always have a song in my heart!  I used to sing at the supper table and my mom would remind me of my manners and Daddy would remind my Mom, “she just has a song in her heart.”   3 of my most favorite songs throughout my life have been songs about the Seasons.   While I love this Bible passage from Ecclesiastes, God helped reveal the passage to me more through lyrics of songs.    My first favorite “Season” song was introduced to me around the age of 9 through an 8 Track tape of Evie Karlsson Turnqueist  (from the Billy Graham Crusade) in my Mom and Dad’s 1976 Olds Cutlass.   The song title on the 8 Track was “Now is the time.”  The lyrics have stayed with me long after the 8 Track tape was long gone.  Evie’s song taught me that that I was made by God to serve Him and that God planned everything and He has a reason for every season.  Through those lyrics, God gave me peace.  It was around that time that I made my personal commitment to Christ.  When I became a business person and began to go through the highs and lows of the business playing field, I was comforted by lyrics from Ray Boltz song, Seasons Change about a farmer who planted crops and even though there was a drought and the fields were barron, he trusted God’s hand to provide.  Through the farmer’s faith, the farmer received a bountiful harvest.  This song revealed to me that even when a drought is predicted, I do not need to stop plowing the fields and sewing seeds.   I must continue to work as if I am working for God.   Then as a mother of a fine young man, leaving for college 3 years ago, I discovered Mandisa’s song, He is with you. God continues to use those lyrics to mend my heart and remind me to reach for God’s hand when I am lonely for my son or just for lonely for the way things were in a prior time.   

At age 45, I am so blessed!!!!   I am a child of God, a wife to Scott for 25 years this month and have been a mother for 21 years.   I have been through the seasons and I do not mean winter, spring, summer and fall.   The seasons of life are filled with joy, despair, death, life, health problems, fear, droughts, floods, loneliness, happiness, love, forgiveness, depression, economic hardships, uncertainty, prosperity, youthfulness, aging, and many more.   I have learned though, that if I call on God and praise Him for the season, He will carry me through. If my joy is temporarily removed, He restores it. He has proven it time and time again.        

As a mom, I certainly hope I am teaching my children to trust Him and praise Him through their seasons. I hope that they can see God’s work in me through my seasons.  I also hope as much as I want to protect them from the “storms of life season”, it is through their season’s they will grow in their own faith.  I have a book I used to read to Sammy called Precious Moments Through the Year Stories and I have a favorite poem from the book called I am thankful for Brushes and Brooms.  At the end of the praise poem it says something like this, “I heard Mom say in her prayers tonight, I’m thankful for problems today. If life never got a little bit tough, I might forget to pray.”      I hope my children have a memory like that of me. 

Dear Lord, thank you for being with me through the many storms of life and the joys of life.  I praise You for each season because the seasons have brought me so much closer to You.  Thank you for the scripture from Ecclesiastes but also for the lyrics you have given to these song writers because through these songs, Your word has been revealed and Your comfort felt.  May my children and all the children of ChristChurch be drawn to you through their seasons of life.

Just believe and let the Season’s Change………….Cara W. Sandlin

Seasons Change

Words by Ray Boltz, Music by Steve Millikan and Ray Boltz

I see a farmer in a field at dawn
His land is crying out for the rain
The year's been hard
His crops are almost gone
But he is not to blame

The morning sun is climbing
In the sky
I see him smiling through the tears
I wonder how can men
Like this survive
But he's been here for years

CHORUS:
Seasons change
Barren fields will bloom again
Seasons change
Gentle rains will fall
Seasons change
Better days will come and then
You will find the blessing
Is worth the pain
So just believe
And let the seasons change

I see a farmer in his field at dusk
With joy he bring a harvest in
The pride he feels
Is in the one he trusts
And he offers thanks to Him

CHORUS

Hearts grown cold
May be warmed by the summer sun
Dreams you hold
May be closer than you know
Let the Season’s change…….

  

He is with you….sung by Mandisa

There's a time to live
And a time to die
There's a time to laugh
And a time to cry

There's a time for war
And a time for peace
There's a hand to hold
In the worst of these
In the worst of these

He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can't even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn't kiss you anymore

He is with you when your baby's gone
And your house is still, and you heart's a stone
Cryin' "God, what'd You do that for?"
He is with you

There's a time for yes
And a time for no
There's a time to be angry
And a time to let it go

There's a time to run
And a time to face it
There is love to see you

Through all of this

He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don't know you anymore
And He is with you in the ICU
When the doctors don't know that to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you
We may weep for a time
But joy will come in the morning
The morning light
He is with you when your kids are grown
When there's too much space and you feel alone
And you're worried if you've got it right or wrong
Yes He is with you when you've given up
On ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left
And you take your final breath
He is with you