Timing

For those of you who just tuned in, I have been on hols for the past fortnight or so.  I had the opportunity to share time with Bill of Bilgrimage, which was delightful, to experience mass in a different parish (each parish in our communion has a unique and different expression of liturgy) which was wonderful, as well as spending time with family and friends, which is always nice.  

Well, mostly nice.  

That leads to today's readings and the odd looking drawing at right.  What you see there is a medieval Italian badge, known as an impresa, with the motto 'when the time is right'.

The first reading today is from the Apocalypse, wherein a pair of angels with sickles in turn harvest the grain and grapes of the earth "For the time to reap has come".

The gospel reading is from Luke 21 wherein Jesus prophesies the destruction of the Temple and the Great Diaspora which came to pass within a generation.  When asked when these things would happen, Jesus wouldn't say when and he said specifically to not listen to those who do.

It appears that there is timing going on in my personal life, a turning of seasons and changes in tide.  My partnership of nearly 6 years is over, almost all of my friendships have dissolved over the last 3-6 months and, apart from the topics of this blog, the things which have been of interest to me are linked to people who are no longer in my life and merely thinking of them leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Though I know and trust that He has it all in hand, I shan't lie.  I'm saddened and frustrated and feeling rather at a loss.  I so very much want to move on to what is next.  If this chapter is over, then I want to start the next.  We're all familiar with the passage from Ecclesiastes 3 about for everything being a season.  Recall verse 11, though, which wasn't quoted by The Byrds.

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."

So...listen and wait for when the time is right.