The Seasons We Live, the Eternity We Long For

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” With poetic honesty, Ecclesiastes 3 walks us through the full spectrum of human experience—birth and death, planting and uprooting, mourning and dancing, keeping and letting go. It’s all there. The highs and the lows. The moments we wish would last forever, and the moments we pray would pass quickly.

This passage sets time—with all its unpredictability, beauty, and fragility—against the backdrop of eternity. It reminds us that life, for all its richness, is still fleeting. We live in a world of seasons: joy and sadness, elation and disappointment, progress and setbacks. It’s part of being human. Our days are stitched together by different times and different experiences, each shaping us in ways we often don’t recognize until much later.
But then Ecclesiastes makes a surprising turn. After detailing the rhythms of time, the writer says, “He has set eternity in the hearts of men.” In other words, within every one of us is a longing for something more—something stable, whole, and lasting. We ache not only because life is hard at times, but because our souls instinctively know we were made for more than what time can offer.

And here is where gratitude blooms.

We are grateful because God has made everything beautiful in its time—even the seasons we didn’t choose. We are grateful because the hope of eternity steadies us in the in-between. We are grateful because heaven is not simply a future destination; it’s a present invitation.

The good news of Jesus is not that eternal life begins someday, but that eternal life begins now. Heaven’s peace, hope, and wholeness are available in this moment. The One who stepped into time—yet lives outside of it—invites us to follow Him in such a way that we begin to live eternally even while we’re still firmly planted in time.

In Jesus, we get to participate in the miracle of “bringing up there down here.” Gratitude becomes not just a response but a lifestyle—a posture that allows us to see God’s hand in every season and trust His heart in every transition.

So as you walk through whatever “time” you find yourself in today—whether it’s a time to laugh or a time to weep, a time to gather or a time to let go—may your heart lean toward eternity. May gratitude rise not because everything is perfect, but because God is present.
How can you bring eternity into your moments today?

• Start by practicing gratitude.
• Start by inviting heaven’s peace into your tasks, your conversations, your decisions, your pauses.
• Start by remembering that eternal life with Jesus is not just ahead of you—it's within you and available to you.

Begin living eternally. And live gratefully.