Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 408 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

A Time for Everything

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy podcast. This is Day 408 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life, and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. Today we will review the concept of the cycles and seasons of life as we look at the concept of A Time for Everything.

We are broadcasting from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. When this trek originally airs, we will be in Scottsdale and Mesa, Arizona working with our partners Charles and Alison Mecom and Tim Guernsey. The five of us are members of Arizona Development Company, and we are the General Contractor for a funding group that is building a combination of townhomes and retail space in Mesa, Arizona. We also provide repairs, remodeling, and maintenance for this same funding group who manages several multi-family housing units in the Phoenix area.

Our focus this trip will be to streamline some of the accounting processes and review the progress being made on our current major project. As we progress through the phases of the project, it is similar to life. There is a time for everything that goes into a construction project, and a time for everything that happens in our lives. Rarely does a construction project or our lives run as smoothly as planned or hoped for. With both, we need to make adjustments and changes for the various cycles and seasons. Sometimes events and situations happen that we did not anticipate, and we have to adapt. Sometimes we make mistakes and fail in some manner, and we have to learn the lessons and continue on. So on our trek for today, we will hike the trail called…

A Time For Everything

When you consider the entirety of life, we all pass through the four seasons, which most of us understand. What you may not grasp though is that you are constantly going through the cycles and seasons of life on a continual basis and in different areas of your life. The principles of planting and harvesting apply to everything that you do so that you have to be continually ready for each of the seasons. If you are prepared for the current season, you will come to understand that each season of life will have its joys and sorrows. The magnitude or intensity of those joys and sorrows will be based on how well you managed and took advantage of the opportunities of the previous season.

You cannot expect a time of harvesting in the spring or a time of planting in the fall. There is a proper time for everything, and if you are wise, you will understand that timing. The core focus on today’s trek is based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. This passage was also the basis for a popular song written by Peter Seeger in the late 1950s and then popularized by the Byrds in the mid-60s under the title Turn, Turn, Turn. The original motivation of the song was a plea for peace in the world during a very tumultuous time.

If you desire to gain wisdom and become wise, then you will come to realize that there is a time and season for everything that happens in your life. How joyful or sorrowful you are during each of those seasons will largely depend on your actions and attitudes of the previous season. It is not the season of life that you are in that matters but how prepared you are for that season that makes all the difference. Let us read through the first 8 verses of Ecclesiastes to learn the wisdom of King Solomon who penned this book.

¹ For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
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.   

Until you grasp and come to a full understanding of this passage, you will be continually plagued by the struggles and disappointments of every changing season of life. Preparation and faith are the two requirements to live the rich and satisfying life that Jesus promised us in John [10:10]. For everything, there is a season and a time for every activity under heaven.

While you will not be able to control every situation that happens to you in life, the more prepared you are and the closer you follow the basic principles found in God’s Word, the more joyful each season in life will be, regardless of the difficulties that you must face. You will never understand everything that happens to you, but to understand this concept more fully on our trek today, let us continue with this passage in Ecclesiastes 3 verses 9-13.

⁹ What do people really get for all their hard work? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. ¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. ¹² So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. ¹³ And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 

You need to be astute and follow God’s principles so that each season of life will be an abundant season for you, even with its difficulties. Choose to be happy and to enjoy the fruit of your labor because these are truly gifts from God.

Today on our trek we have come to the understanding that there is a time for everything. We would do well not to rush through life and miss what is important because God does make everything beautiful in its own time. Let us be prepared in each season of life so that it is a joyful season even in the midst of difficulties. Let us take the time to enjoy the fruit of our labor but not miss the opportunities of preparation that we need for the next season.

On our next Philosophy Friday, we will trek through some practical principles and guidelines that can help you through all of life’s seasons. Our next trek will be Motivation Monday where we will explore how true success requires humility, which will allow you to stay motivated and bring value to your world. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person when you meet with them and invite them to come along with us each day.

If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek, so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically. I would also appreciate it if you would rate and review us on iTunes or Google Play so that others will find out about Wisdom-Trek and join us.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you on Monday!