November 6, I have a new Christmas novella releasing, A Season for Everything. The story is about two characters that are challenged to move on after having suffered through very difficult years. As you might imagine, the scripture used in the book comes from Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
I know many of us are growing weary in this present season of difficulties. At one point in the book, a character thinks it feels as if some seasons never end. There’s probably not one person on the planet who hasn’t thought that in 2020.
I first remember hearing this verse from Psalm 30:5 when it was quoted to me by a spiritual mentor more than forty years ago, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."
There has been much to grieve this year―friends and loved ones who have passed, relationships that have suffered, too much time away from family, lonely days for many, political strife, a pandemic that just keeps going and so much more.
But friends, joy is coming. And not just in heaven. The great hymn writer, Isaac Watts, called the “Father of English Hymnody” once wrote in “Marching to Zion” (Come We that Love the Lord), “The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets before we reach the heavenly fields, or walk the golden streets.” It’s one of my favorite verses in any hymn. I find Watts included this verse so that the song might communicate both the joys of heaven and also “the blessings of God on earth.” One writer wrote, “This hymn gives us the opportunity to express the beauty of the life we are living, as well as looking forward to what is to come.”
If these 2020 hills are going to yield something sweet, it’s because God’s people are praying and hoping and believing. God is at work this side of heaven, even when it may not seem apparent.
Of this I am sure―there truly is a season for everything.
May his joy be yours, friends.
The book cover for A Season for Everything released yesterday. Hoping this book brings a little bit of Christmas to you when it releases November 6. If you haven't read the other books in the series they are HERE.
The preorder page for A Season for Everything has just gone live. It is HERE.