A time to plant and a time to uproot . . .

Time for Everything

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every [a]event under heaven—

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11 He has made everything [b]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [c]yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

 Ecclesiates 3:1-11

Things were sorted, sold, given, packed and moved.  We felt sad, joyful, anxious, sometimes numb but mostly excited.  Animals were given away, and a temporary home was found for another. The "things" became less and less and the echo in the house made of concrete became more and more.  Goodbye letters from classmates and co-laborers were received and cherished, sweet prayers were said.  While the house had been emptied, our hearts had been filled by sweet "last time for nows."  With a blanket of fog as thick as God's love, we watched the house grow smaller in the background and smiled as we passed friends on their porch waving us goodbye as we drove away to greet the new day.

I like to think of myself as the planter . . . you know, the one that has the control over the little seed, but the reality is that I am more the plant, and God can move and transplant as He pleases. The seed is our walk with Christ that beckons us to not remain stationary, comfortable, stagnant but to walk with Jesus, submitted to the word of God, producing fruit, and to grow in our likeness of Him. A time to plant and a time to uproot.

The actual process of being uprooted and  moving across the country in the D.R. is a little more raw than I would say moving in the U.S. would be.  There are no moving companies, just big open bed trucks that have to make as many trips as there is stuff. (P.S. Old tarps worn thin should not be trusted to keep belongings dry. I am pretty sure that upon our return we will be greeted with moldy things. However, everything we need can be summed up in the love of Christ.)

Here is a snapshot of what it looks like to be uprooted and transplanted in the D.R.

HE has made everything appropriate in its time- this we trust! With eternity in our hearts we keep our eyes fixed on Christ as HE uses us for different things now.