Morning Devotional 112525 Uphill Both Ways

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

November 25, 2025 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens: 2 a time for giving birth and a time for dying, a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted, 3 a time for killing and a time for healing, a time for tearing down and a time for building up, 4 a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing, 5 a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces, 6 a time for searching and a time for losing, a time for keeping and a time for throwing away, 7 a time for tearing and a time for repairing, a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking, 8 a time for loving and a time for hating, a time for war and a time for peace.

Good Morning! God is with us in every season of our lives!

Courtesy of the U.S. Navy, my family and I lived in Orlando, FL, for about one year. Elliott, my youngest son, was born during this time. Having grown up in Indiana, the climate in Orlando was very different. We moved there in mid-summer and remained there until early spring. Of course, there was no snow, which I missed, but perhaps fall was what I missed most. I love the transition from summer to fall, when the leaves begin to change, and the crispness arrives in the air. 

As much as I love the palm trees, the tropical climate, and rarely needing to wear a coat, I like experiencing the four distinctive seasons. The cycle of seasons keeps me grounded in my thoughts and the passage of time. 

As God’s children, we will move in and out of the seasons of our physical, emotional, and spiritual lives many times. Although some seasons seem to linger longer than we wish, or disappear in the blink of an eye, we recognize the signs that accompany the shifts. 

Without the downs, how could we rise? I remember a funny Boy Scout story. When we picked up my middle son, Alex, from a week of scout camp in Pulaski County, he described the paths to anywhere in the camp as being uphills both ways. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but I think he felt the uphill climbs much more than the downhill glides. Isn’t that true in our faith journey as well? We slide down into the lows quickly, but those climbs out of the struggles are what we remember. This is where learning and endurance take place. 

The Good News is that God is with us always, when we slip into the valleys, but when we climb to the peaks as well. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter.

Lord, you bless us abundantly! Thank you for providing us with many ways to become the ones you created us to be. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Rejoice with God who accompanies us along our journeys.

Climbing builds endurance! Pastor Liz