The Changing of the Season

In kindergarten, or around that time, small children learn about the seasons of the year and how they change. They learn what is special about each season and how each one is necessary and important.

Spring is a time of renewal and new life. Spring is necessary for the seeds and bulbs in the earth to begin to warm, come out of dormancy, and sprout. The earth is preparing for Summer.

Summer, with its long hot days, is when things thrive. Trees and plants produce fruit. But Summer is also when things need to be watered and tended in order to produce a good harvest. The weeds grow with the vegetables and they need to be pulled up by the root. If the weeds are not destroyed, they will take over, eventually affecting the harvest.

Autumn is a time of harvest for some of the longer growing crops. It’s also when things begin to slow down and go into a period of dormancy and rest. All the leaves that fall off the trees and onto the ground die and rot, but in doing so they add needed nutrients back to the soil in preparation for life next Spring.

Winter with its shorter days and long cold nights is a time of peace, rejuvenation, and rest. The cold weather and snow come, and the snow actually absorbs the sound in the air. Things are quieter and more serene. All these times have a uniqueness, a purpose, and, in some way are preparing for what comes next.

Recently, at a conference, I received a book called “Write the Word” (I have gushed about this thing on the Facebook page, so if you are interested, take a look at the page. You can pick one up on Amazon). The very first scripture in the version I have is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

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.            Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV

Seasons. Time periods. Phases.  Stages.

We all go through seasons in our lives. The old Persian saying (that, BTW, is not in the Bible directly – although the sentiment is certainly there) “This, too, shall pass,” applies here. Good. Bad. Easy. Difficult. Joyful. Dreadful. Ugly. Nasty. Hopeful. Restful. It will all pass. There is a friend of mine that likes to add a little redneck flavor on to the ancient Persian adage, “This, too, shall pass. Sometimes it passes like a kidney stone, but it will pass.” I can identify with that. Can you?

All this to say, the Lord has just been making me very aware of the seasons of my life. Maybe it’s (again as I said in Sliding Into Home) a function of my age, but it’s there. I seem to recognize the different life seasons, and recognize people talking about them, around every corner. He is teaching me not to despise the hard seasons as I did when I was younger, but to savor them too, as I do the good ones. That doesn’t mean the hard times weren’t difficult, or that I would even want to go through them again. But it DOES mean that I am learning to recognize the value in each one.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is a verse that we all LOVE to quote, especially when we are going through a difficult time. But consider this context. Jeremiah is talking to the children of Israel, as a whole, in this instance. And God is about to allow them to go into seventy years of exile in Babylon because of their disobedience and idolatry. But He IS reminding them, even amid the mess that they got themselves into, He still has a plan. They haven’t completely screwed up His path for them. He is letting them feel the consequences of their actions (because sometimes that’s the only way we learn) for a while – for a season – but He still has a future for them. They still have hope in Him. It’s going to be rough, but eventually, as is the nature of a season, it will end.

When you are young, you never think about situations that you run into as a parent of adults, as a grandparent, or even as an adult child of aging parents. You don’t think about the issues (sometimes good, sometimes not so much) that arise out of those unique circumstances. But one day, all of a sudden, you find yourself smack in the midst of something and you think, “How on earth did I get here? Wasn’t it just last year that I was worried about what I was going to wear on Friday night and how I was going to get home before curfew so that I didn’t get in trouble with my parents? Now I am looking at retirement plans, being hassled by my doc about scheduling a colonoscopy, and wondering if it’s too soon to buy a cemetery plot and save my kids the aggravation.”

He is teaching me to recognize the season and to be intentional about getting the most out of it – even when it’s a hard one, and I’d prefer to skip it altogether.

Other, new seasons are coming. There will be good times and bad, but I have to learn to trust His plans and know that what I am doing now (even if it’s HARD) is preparing me for what He has for me later.

 

Daniel 2:21 NIV     He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Psalm 66:10 TPT   O Lord, we have passed through your fire; like precious metal made pure, you’ve proved us, perfected us, and made us holy.

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