Dear Friends,
I am finding it difficult to believe that we are coming to the end of October. The passing of time is such a strange thing or maybe how we relate to it is a bit of a mystery. Several things have made me think about time over the last weeks. Autumn always makes me conscious of the passing of time. Also, each year when we celebrate our Foundation Day, as we did earlier in the month, and we are looking back over more than three centuries, inevitably the passage of time is uppermost in our thoughts. Then, today, we celebrate St Cedd – an English saint who lived even longer ago – in the 600s. Chelmsford Cathedral is dedicated to Cedd and in Bradwell there is a very special chapel also dedicated to him. Again we are looking back over such a long time.
So today attachments reflect on time in various ways. Inevitably the very well-known passage from Ecclesiastes is included but with it some writing that comes from a reflection on it. We hope you will be helped to reflect fruitfully on the topic. However we relate to time, it certainly plays a big part in our lives. We either don’t have enough time or time hangs on our hands. Time seems to pass very quickly or to drag and so on. Finding the right moment to have a particular conversation isn’t always easy. Timing is often of the essence.
Our blessing today is from Heavenly Peace, ‘Bless to Me O God’.
Our love to you all & have a good week
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8
NIV translation
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
a time for God, and a time for joy;
a time for identity, and a time for acceptance;
a time for justice, and a time for forgiveness;
a time for grieving, and a time for transformation;
a time for searching, and a time for struggle;
a time for suffering, and a time for healing;
a time for eldering, and a time for wisdom;
a time for work, and a time for ministry;
a time for love, and a time for memories.
Loretta Girzaitis
From time immemorial we are destined for birth, growth & death.
We live until there has been time enough to be alone inside our skin. We have the time of our life and then our time is up.
The door opens upon eternity, and time is one timeless present.
We stand before the Lord of Time immersed in love, and time stands still.
Loretta Girzaitis
Hearing the call to let go
Sometimes we become aware of something of which we need to let go. Watch this part of your life as it moves, like the sun, beyond your sight. Let it go from you as light does at the end of the day. Let it go from you as summer goes & autumn comes. Encourage your heart to let it go. Receive the comforting presence of earth settling in for the night. Let the spirit of autumn speak to your heart – receive whatever you need to enter into your own autumn……..
Adapted from Macrina Wiederkehr
Waiting for the ‘When’
Waiting for the ‘When’ keeps me
from appreciating what I now have.
Longing for promises & dreaming dreams
is not a harmful deed as long as
The present moment is not overlooked,
as long as gratitude rises for what is already here,
as long as I do not base my happiness on what is still wanting.
Thankfulness for what has already been given
is the foundation for hoping for what is not yet.
What is time?
Is it a period, a point, an occasion when something or someone exists?
Is it a moment or an hour when something commences, happens, or culminates?
Why does time hang heavy on our hands?
Why does it move so slowly at times?
Why don’t we have time to lose?
Where do we store the time we save?
What does it mean to take time to love?
to be present to someone?
to communicate with God?