I can still remember the sound of the little bird that popped out of the old cuckoo clock on the wall at my grandparents’ house. Every hour, on the hour, the red faded bird would announce the time. I also recall that when the bird was quiet, I could hear the second hand ticking away the seconds of the day.

It’s often said that you can’t get time back, so it’s best to make use of the time you have. Though the author of Ecclesiastes didn’t write those words, they sound like something he might have said. In Ecclesiastes we hear the words of a person who has had the opportunity to look back on his life and recall the joys, concerns, victories, and defeats he has experienced. We hear someone who reflects on how important each season was.

Notably, the wise King Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, ends his short reflection by commenting that God makes all things beautiful in their time and sets eternity in the human heart (v. 11). That brings me back to those days in my grandparents’ home with the cuckoo clock, and I remember stories that they shared around the dinner table. I can’t get that time back, but the beauty of the memories lives on, and the thought of reuniting with those family members in God’s presence in eternity brings me joy, both now and forever.