WEEK THREE – FINAL THOUGHTS
Insights on the Seasons of Life – Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4 (NIV)
(As a reference, this passage is repeated at the end of this section.)
NOTE TO GROUP LEADER: This is the final week on Insights on the Seasons of Life. It is a time for personal reflection and to share our experiences and how they relate to the passage of time. Allow the group to consider if this exercise and discussion have provided clarity for our lives and how we live from day to day. Allow the discussion to flow freely so that the individuals in the group feel that they have been heard. Try to ensure that all members of the group have had an opportunity to share their thoughts. Do not insist that a person share but offer him or her the opportunity. The closing reflection and prayer may be read by the Group Leader, or one or two members of the group may be asked to read aloud. (Items needed: Closing Reflection, Discussion Questions, Closing inspirational video and song):
Follow the order as indicated below:
- Read the lines on the video entitled: The Seasons of Your Life: Inspirational Video
The Seasons of Your Life: Inspirational video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xejXXgPmw6Q
- Closing Reflection
- Discussion Questions
- Closing song: Turn, Turn, Turn by Judy Collins and Pete Seeger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0xzyhoeu1Y
Closing Reflection and Prayer:
We have discussed the first four lines of Ecclesiastes 3, but as we read further in lines 9-14, the author adds a little more perspective and reasons for what is said in lines 1-4. He says: 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 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.”
We may not fully understand God’s reasons for our joys and our pains, but with all our experiences, He is weaving a perfect tapestry with lights and darks, areas of color, areas of brightness and shade. We cannot see the full tapestry, only our own little section of it – our lives – from the moment of birth to the moment of death. We know what we celebrated and what brought us pain and caused suffering. We know how we reacted to each of these experiences. What we don’t fully know is how our lives impacted others. We have added to God’s tapestry in ways we can only imagine. We are told, however, that whatever we have done, will endure forever… we can add nothing to it, and we can take nothing away.
Let us pray:
Dearest Lord,
You know better than anyone that I am not perfect,
My life has not been perfect.
Sometimes you gave me moments of great joy,
When I felt that everything was going better than I could have imagined.
Everything was going “my way.”
Other times you challenged me with what seemed unbearable pain —
Personal illnesses, the loss of a loved one, financial struggles.
I questioned You.
Why would you let anyone struggle so much, feel such pain?
I felt lost, alone, vulnerable.
I saw others, too.
They were stumbling along
– frightened, unsure of themselves, in physical or emotional pain.
I could not understand why you would let your children suffer so much.
But, then I realized…
I could not see the whole tapestry that you were weaving with our lives.
Occasionally, there were signs and I saw your reasons…
My pain helped me to become more compassionate of the pain of others.
My financial struggles helped me appreciate what and who mattered most.
My joys gave me hope.
Help me to be patient with You. Help me trust You, and remember that You have a plan.
You have determined the time and place for every purpose under heaven.
I know that once I see your completed tapestry,
I will recognize that all that I have experienced will fit perfectly into Your holy plan.
Amen.
Closing discussion questions:
- What thoughts did you have as you read the final reflection? Can you identify with some of these thoughts and explain why?
- What thoughts did you have as you watched and read: The Seasons of Your Life: Inspirational Video?
- Did the prayer mirror your thoughts at all? If so, how? If not, why not? What would you change, add or delete from the prayer?
- Share a moment of your life which you are certain that God will include in His tapestry. Why?
- What is the overall message of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4 for you?
- Reflect on the last three weeks of bible study. Share your spiritual and emotional journey. What questions did you have? What concerns did you address? Did you gain any insights or have questions answered?
- Closing Question for “Insights on the Seasons of Life”: Have these three weeks of Bible Study given you any sense of wellness, a sense of hope? If so, how? If not, why not?
Closing Song: Turn, Turn, Turn by Judy Collins and Pete Seeger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0xzyhoeu1Y
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late
Source: LyricFind
Songwriter: Pete Seeger
NOTE TO GROUP LEADER: At the end of the session, you may want to allow the group to have a few moments for open commentary and thoughts about the session and what it may have meant for them.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4 (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…