Ecclesiastes 3:1-17

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to greet and a time to say farewell,
a time to seed and a time to weed,
a time to prune and a time to restore,
a time to confront what is and a time to encourage new growth,
a time to be sad and a time to be glad,
a time to mourn our losses and a time to move on,
a time to forget and a time to remember,
a time to nurture and support and a time to withdraw from supporting,
a time to seek to know and a time to accept what is,
a time to hold on to and a time to relinquish,
a time to rip apart and a time to repair,
a time to be quiet and a time to speak out,
a time to value relationships with others and a time to embrace God alone,
a time for conflict and a time for reconciliation.

God has made everything beautiful in its time.
He is able to see the beauty of His entire creation,
from the outset through the present,
and from the present into eternity.
He sees all that was, is, and will be
from the perspective of completion,
as a jigsaw puzzle already put together.
In the present, He wants us to
involve fully with the pieces He has provided us,
being satisfied with the task at hand,
knowing it is but part of the bigger picture,
and, with confidence, trust Him with the panoramic view.
Someday, the picture will be complete.
We will see it as He has always seen it and know
that every thing we thought ugly or unnecessary
had a place in the overall design,
His masterpiece!

Twila Charles Leichty
30. September 2008









As you celebrate the milestones in your life,
reflect on the faithfulness of God thus far,
anticipate on-going evidences of His faithfulness in the days ahead.
The Bible questions, in Romans 3:3,
“Will a person's lack of faith nullify Gods faithfulness?”
and provides this emphatic response:
“Not at all!”

God's faithfulness is an integral part of who He is.
It is not dependent on what we do, our faithfulness or lack of it.
And for that, we can be eternally grateful!

* * *

God has prepared you well for the ministry
to which He has called you.
He used your family of origin, your marriage,
your spiritual family and life circumstances
as institutions of learning with many teachers.
The courses were not always those of your choosing,
but the curriculum was one that He thought essential in your education.

I thank God that you have embraced His appointments
and that your availability, coupled with His ability,
will provide for healing and growth in the lives of others
throughout our broken world.
Wholeness ~ spiritual, relational, emotional ~ is a gift
God wants to bestow,
and He uses jars of clay, such as you, to direct His faithful love,
healing salve, and refreshing water
into the lives of those who are wounded, weary, and ready to receive it.

You can depend upon His faithfulness and strength
to meet your every need
and the needs of all those with whom you will walk along the way.

Twila Charles Leichty
13. October 2008