Lighthouse Keeper

A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, (Ecclesiastes 3:2)

A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,(Ecclesiastes 3:7)

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.(Ecclesiastes 3:8)

Of all the things I hear and see people struggling with in their everyday life, timing is often both the problem and the solution. 

I was advising an old work friend on how to buy a first home for her and her family. They were saving a deposit and preparing to sacrifice a more desirable suburb to get into something they could afford as a stepping stone. She was pumped and committed–it was all go. 

Next thing on Instagram I see they had bought a motorhome (presumably with the house deposit) and were going travelling around the country for a year. 

“The kids are young and we’re scared of a big mortgage–we want to get out and live!”

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot.

Prayer and wisdom will guide us into knowing which season we are in and what lies on the road ahead. Both of us were right to some extent but was it the time to harvest the seed and uproot  (house deposit money) for an adventure before it had even had time to be planted and grow in the soil (first home)? My advice would be no. 

I hear working friends talking about the days and how they want to speak up get their views across but don’t want to be argumentative or unreasonable:

A time to be silent, a time to speak…

A time for war, a time for peace.

Both options can be right (or wrong) in the given context. Being able to hold two things being true at the same time is a sign of wisdom. Us Christians often like our Bible black and white and steer away from the wrestle that is necessary to pray down ‘kingdom come’ into our situations. Sometimes “it’s complex” is a perfectly fine answer because not all paths are obvious from the start and we are humans and only have certain knowledge and capacity. 

One of my favourite sayings is “you’re not always going to get a run of green lights”. There will be challenges and obstacles to navigate and yes our Great Shepherd is always guiding but He is also equipping us to make better choices and help others once we’ve found a way across the mountain. 

Sometimes it’s just timing. 

I read a lot of books on investing and property when I was at university and in my early 20’s but I was broke! I had no seed to invest so as much as I tried, I wasn’t growing any trees. It wasn’t until miracle provision came through when I was 39 (I’ll write that post later) that I could actually apply some of the things I’d read about. 19 years after I had read the books. I used to feel like a fraud that I had all this head knowledge and no harvest “all hat and no cattle” as the Americans say. That was me. 

God will work all things for good (Romans 8:28) so don’t feel like you’re doing your Christian walk wrong if sometimes the road ahead isn’t clear. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)