God Predetermines the Events of Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
1.  To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under heaven. NLT
 ¹ There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
 ² A time to be born and a time to die.
      A time to plant and a time to harvest.
 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 cry and a time to laugh.
      A time to grieve and a time to dance.
 ⁵ A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
      A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
 ⁶ A time to search and a time to quit searching.
      A time to keep and a time to throw away.
 ⁷ A time to tear and a time to mend.
      A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
 ⁸ A time to love and a time to hate.
      A time for war and a time for peace.
¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

Today, I can rejoice in that one word - God will make everything, and that includes me, beautiful in its own time.  Now what does that mean in "its" time.  Does that mean it depends on me somehow?  No, that can't be.  I don't want my opportunity to shine and be beautiful for God to depend on me, at all, whatsoever!  I must look up a different version of the Bible. Oh, here's the Message. "True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time - but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going."  Well again it says, "every thing beautiful in itself and in its time." So when is my time?

New Life Version - if you don't like one version, it's OK to just keep on looking.  "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put thoughts of the forever in man's mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the Beginning to the end."  Hmmm, I kind of like that, "He's put thoughts of the forever in man's mind." 

My first thoughts of forever are forever depressed, forever broke, forever lonely, forever fat. Oh, not that kind of forever, God's kind of forever.  Oh, that's better - That's a good forever.  That reminds me of a little book I just read. "Heaven is For Real."  It's the story of a little boy Colton, 4 years old, he dies of an appendicitis and then lives. It's the account of the following year or two of his life as he shares what heaven is like.  He shares in random conversation, things that he had never been told or could understand.  His father was a pastor and has documented his story to share.  It's really quite lovely and wonderful to read what he reveals about heaven.  One of my favorite parts is when Colton went with his father (the pastor) to visit a dying man in a rest home. His father prayed for the man and his family and then walked to the door to leave. Colton turned around walked up to the bed of the dying, unconscious man and whispered in his ear, "It's going to be OK, the first person you see in heaven is Jesus."  I don't know why that moves me so much. I guess it's just such a comfort to know that when I die, the first thing I'm going to see is Jesus.  Hallelujah, or as my son says Hallaluyer! (to quote Madea).  One other thing Colton revealed was he had a sister that had died in the womb.  Colton was four, he had never been told about it, but shared about meeting his sister who had "died in mommy's tummy" and that God had adopted her.  It's really an awesome little book, it will make you excited about heaven. Hey, we're getting older, we need to be excited about something, right? I got the book at Costco if you're interested.

Back to God makes everything beautiful in its time. I'm going to end this as it relates to heaven because I'm still stuck on that "it's time" thing. Colton says there are no "old bodies in heaven.  Now, that's going to be BEAUTIFUL!