Times and seasons

I see it's a very long time since I last posted here. Business isn't the reason. I suppose it's because I've not had much to say. However I was struck in the interim by what Jesus said before ascending: "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed...".


At the end of May, Jane had to make the difficult decision to uproot our wallflowers and pansies which were still in full bloom. The result was that the flower bed and the pots were left bare and brown. Of course that wasn't the end. The next stage was putting in the young plants we bought from the local garden centre. Even so the view from my seat is a tad dull and not a patch on what it was before.  

Why did she grub up flowers in their prime? Vandalism? Perversity? Of course not. We know the reason. The season is the reason. In order for new flowers to blossom in the summer, the winter/spring flowers need to be grubbed up. As I look at the incomplete garden, it occurs to me that it might be how God works with us. Why does he take away? Why does he cut us down in our prime? Why does life hurt so often? Maybe it's a matter of times and seasons. Maybe it's because, as St Paul says, we are his workmanship. Maybe he has something good in mind.