God brings beauty from all seasons.

上帝会使人生的高山低谷成为美好。

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 

祂使万事各按其时，成为美好。-传道书3章11节

Yesterday I purchased an airline ticket to send my firstborn child to college. I’m surprised the keyboard on my computer still functions, given the waterworks my eyes unleashed on it during the flight selection process. I have so enjoyed my eighteen years of daily life with her that I am saddened by the prospect of her departure. Yet I wouldn’t rob her of the opportunity that lies ahead simply because I’ll miss her. At this juncture in her life, it is fitting for her to embark on a new journey to discover adulthood and explore another part of the country.

我的大女儿准备离家上大学，昨天我上网为她订机票时，不舍的情绪油然而生，泪水竟然沾湿了电脑键盘，还好键盘没有坏。过去18年来，我享受与她共同生活的每一个日子，因此想到她要离开就令我悲从中来。但我不会因为思念她，而剥夺她眼前的机会。在她人生的这个路口，我应该要让她去展开新的旅程，学习独立，到其他的城市开拓眼界。

As this season of my parenting draws to a close, another one begins. It will undoubtedly bring both new challenges and new delights. Solomon, Israel’s third king, wrote that God appoints “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We humans have little control over the events of our lives—whether we view those events as favorable or not. But God, in His mighty power, makes “everything beautiful in its time” (v. 11).

如今这个阶段，我教导大女儿的责任已接近尾声，另一个阶段也随之展开。毫无疑问的是，我也将面临新的挑战与新的乐趣。以色列国的第三位国王所罗门写道，上帝使“凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时”（传道书3章1节）。生活中的事，无论好坏，我们人类几乎都无法掌控。然而，上帝却以祂的大能“使万事各按其时，成为美好”（11节，新译本）。

In seasons of heartache, we can trust God to bring something good from them in time. Our comforts and joys may come and go, but God’s works “will endure forever” (v. 14). We may not relish every season—some are quite painful—yet He can bring beauty to them all. 

在痛苦时，我们可以信靠上帝，祂必会在适当的时候，让你我从所经历的痛苦中得益处。那些让我们宽慰和欢愉的事情会来去更迭，但上帝的工作却“都必永存”（14节）。人生的每个阶段并不一定都欢欣喜乐，有时会令人伤痛，然而我们感谢上帝，因为祂能使一切成为美好！

Father, Help us to be content in seasons of trial and difficulty, and to recognize Your power and might are always at work.

天父，求祢帮助我们在遇到试炼与困难时得以知足，并且能看见祢一直以大能大力运行做工。

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14    NIV

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 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.

传道书 3:1-14

 3 凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。 2 生有时，死有时。栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时。 3 杀戮有时，医治有时。拆毁有时，建造有时。 4 哭有时，笑有时。哀恸有时，跳舞有时。 5 抛掷石头有时，堆聚石头有时。怀抱有时，不怀抱有时。6 寻找有时，失落有时。保守有时，舍弃有时。 7 撕裂有时，缝补有时。静默有时，言语有时。 8 喜爱有时，恨恶有时。争战有时，和好有时。 9 这样看来，做事的人在他的劳碌上有什么益处呢？ 10 我见神叫世人劳苦，使他们在其中受经练。 11 神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里，然而神从始至终的作为，人不能参透。 12 我知道，世人莫强如终身喜乐、行善。 13 并且人人吃喝，在他一切劳碌中享福，这也是神的恩赐。 14 我知道，神一切所做的都必永存，无所增添，无所减少，神这样行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。

整理：于姊妹