God gives us the seasons of our lives.

人生无论春夏秋冬，都是上帝所赐。

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。-传道书3章1节

While flying recently, I watched a mother and her children a few rows ahead of me. While the toddler played contentedly, the mother gazed into the eyes of her newborn, smiling at him and stroking his cheek. He stared back with a wide-eyed wonderment. I enjoyed the moment with a touch of wistfulness, thinking of my own children at that age and the season that has passed me by.

最近一次搭乘飞机的时候，我看着坐在前面几排的母子三人。约两岁左右的小女童开心地玩着，她的妈妈则抱着小婴孩，注视他的双眼，对着他笑，又摸摸他的脸颊。小婴孩则是好奇地瞪大眼睛，看着他的妈妈。这样的一幕令人赏心悦目，我带着淡淡的惆怅，回忆我的孩子儿时的点点滴滴，以及那些早已逝去的时光。

I reflected, however, about King Solomon’s words in the book of Ecclesiastes about “every activity under the heavens” (v. 1). He addresses through a series of opposites how there is a “time for everything” (v. 1): “a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot” (v. 2). Perhaps King Solomon in these verses despairs at what he sees as a meaningless cycle of life. But he also acknowledges the role of God in each season, that our work is a “gift of God” (v. 13) and that “everything God does will endure forever” (v. 14).

然而，我想到在传道书中，所罗门王对“天下万务”（传道书3章1节）所作的论述。他以一连串的对比来阐述为何“凡事都有定期”（1节），就如“生有时，死有时；栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时”（2节）。也许，所罗门王是藉此表达他对生命虚空的循环感到绝望，但他也承认上帝在各个层面的作为，正如我们能在劳碌中享福是“上帝的恩赐”（13节），而且“上帝一切所做的都必永存”（14节）。

We may remember times in our lives with longing, like me thinking of my children as babies. We know, however, that the Lord promises to be with us in every season of our life (Isa. 41:10). We can count on His presence and find that our purpose is in walking with Him.

我们也许会想念人生中的某一段时光，就像我会想到孩子们刚出生的样子。然而，我们知道，无论是生命中的哪一个阶段，上帝应许祂会与我们同在（以赛亚书41章10节） 。我们可以倚靠祂的同在，并深知我们生命的意义就是与祂同行。

Lord God, You lead me through the seasons, and whether I’m laughing or crying I know You are with me. May I reach out to someone with Your love today.

天父上帝，祢带领我走过人生不同的阶段，
不论是欢笑或是哭泣，我知道祢都与我同在。
愿我今日能以祢的爱去爱人。

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    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 do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

整理：于姊妹