Monday 11 October 2010

As the seasons turn

To everything
Turn, turn, turn
There is a season
Turn, turn, turn
And a time for 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 for every
purpose under Heaven
( by Pete Seeger based on Ecclesiastes 3:1)

It's been a week of the turning of the seasons for us and our friends and family. Not the big ones, birth and death. Rather the smaller nuances in life. Those little rites of passage.

Last Sunday we attended the christening of our friend's little son Schalk and his brother Louis' second birthday. A celebration of the joining of a boy into his community of believers.

On Tuesday Hunters grandfather was moved into a frail care facility at the age of 89 after stubbornly refusing to move out of his house for years. Two weeks ago he was still driving his car around in Port Elizabeth.  The streets in PE are much safer now, but our hearts are heavy as we know it is the beginning of the end.

On Saturday this reaching of the milestones in life was amplified when we celebrated three events in one day. Right after waking up on Saturday morning the Princess lost her first baby tooth. Later that morning we celebrated little Adriaan, a miracle baby in his own right's first birthday. Late afternoon I took pictures of cousin Karla for her matric dance (senior prom). I was struck by the pace at which life seem to pass us by. Just the other day she was a little girl, the age of my Princess when she was flower girl at my other cousin's wedding.  I was stuck by how beautiful and different she looked. And I was mostly stuck by the unique combination of a sophisticated young woman and a little girl not buried too deeply below the glamorous surface.

How fast do they grow up and at what pace does the seasons turn in out lives? A time and place for everything.

Want to see some more pictures of my beautiful cousin, go have a look here.
Thanks to Hunter for the idea for this post as we sat enjoying the thunderstorm on Saturday evening late and reflecting on the events of the day.

11 comments:

  1. Life is also so fast, just like the seasons.

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  2. Oh, I think you have to know how much I agree with this one! I talk about it all the time on my blog.

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  3. Where does the time go? I ask myself this daily. I thought that as you got older, the years slowed down somewhat - but for me they just seem to whizz by even fast.

    This is a wonderful post Cat - one that records moments that you want to bottle and treasure for ever.

    STUNNIGN pics btw - i hope you got my comment on FB. xx

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  4. Seasons turn too quickly!
    That's why we need to saviour each and every day!
    Thanks for the reminder!

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  5. What an inspirational post Cat...and yes that is just the "circle of life". Yesterday we had a memorial for my aunt who passed away and today we had a memorial for a daddy of a 15 month old baby...how terribly sad that she will never know him.

    Live each day as the precious gift it is.

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  6. So true!
    We need to try and take each day and enjoy it...its just sometimes so hard.

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  7. I love having seasons to show how time does pass:-)

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  8. As the seasons turn, it makes me realize the year are passing so quickly. I can't believe it has been almost a year since we came home from SA!

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  9. I know, I know.

    D just went to check on the kids before bed and came to tell me, "Connor's SO TALL. Can you believe he was this small?" We have framed pics of C when he was 8 weeks old - tiny, tiny, tiny 2.something kilos.

    Yip, time is passing all too quickly :)

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  10. My heart is both joyful and sad with you after reading. I know how these moments can pull at your heartstrings something aweful. How can you be celebrating one moment only to see loss in the second. You will all be in my prayers.

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  11. Yes, time goes by too quickly. My little flower girl from my wedding is now in college. My babies are about to turn 4. I've been teaching for 11 years, married almost 10. When did all this happen? when did I grow up? when did my babies become kids??

    too fast....too fast...

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