Turn! Turn! Turn!
History is often prophetic. The song Turn! Turn! Turn! written in the 1950s by Peter Seegar could not provide a better description of the year that has been 2020. It provides a reflective analysis that regardless of how difficult one moment may seem, life does go on.
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
Life is a cycle. As the seasons of the year change so does the course of life. We cannot stop time, and we cannot stop change. Change is not meant to be easy, but it does not occur without purpose. I believe the changes that have transpired this year are purposeful- that they are part of God’s greater plan and will ultimately result in something that is good. The human race regained some humility in 2020. We have learned a lot about ourselves through this difficult season. We learned that we need each other. We learned how to miss one another. We learned that we all hurt, and we are all vulnerable.
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late
Time took on a new meaning in 2020. We became acutely aware of our humanness and the things that are out of our control. Many of us were forced to accept the fragility of human life in unexpected and seemingly unfair ways. We can not control forces of nature- when we are born and when and how we die. We weep inconsolably during times of distress and we laugh uncontrollably during times of great joy.
During 2020 we experienced internal wars as we struggled through life-altering societal shifts. We lost jobs. We lost loved ones. We lost a sense of security. Physical and mental separations have taken their toll. We were forced to conform to non-natural human behavior- the inability to touch one another; the inability to see someone smile behind a mask.
2020 has been hard. There is no God-given guarantee that 2021 will be easier. The flipping of the calendar won’t make things better, we will.
As mind-numbing as 2020 may have been, I believe 2021 will be better not because the government will allow things to return to normal after wide-spread vaccinations, but because as a society we must shift the way we view and interact with those around us and the world at large.
2021 will be better if we love one another. 2021 will be better if we keep a focus on spending time with family- even after the government says we can return to our old ways. 2021 will be better if we accept the idea that neither the government nor some virus controls our spirit. 2021 will be better if we choose optimism over pessimism- and YES we do have a choice. 2021 will be better if we value and affirm ourselves without degrading others. 2021 can be a time to gain, to rend, to love, and for peace- I swear it’s not too late.
So as we all sit in the last 36 hours of this crazy year, resolve to control the things you can in life and make the most of each moment, big or small. Time marches on, are you going backward, standing still, or marching forward? Stand tall, aim yourself toward the heavens, and march on.
