The seasons in nature are so similar to the seasons in our lives.
They always change …
And just as we begin to feel comfortable in one season, we are carried into the next.
But each season is filled with color and character, unique to that season.
And that is where the beauty lies.
Summer is bright yellow and warmth. Long days outdoors, picnics and sunset walks. A time of celebration under the sun.
Autumn is shades of gold and amber. Breathless days and cooler nights. A sense of gathering in and getting things organised.
Winter is cool blues and grays. Days inside with friends and family sipping soup and red wine. A time of lazy days, for thinking and processing.
Spring is the bright white blossoms on an apple tree. The warmth of sun filling your home again. And a thrill and anticipation of things to come. A season of great hope!
We can relate these seasons to all aspects of our lives. To our family life, our work life, our spiritual life, our social life and our emotional life.
Sometimes we drift from season to season without really being aware of it and other times we feel really stuck, and the season seems to go on forever.
But in everything there is a bit of good and a bit of bad.
Yes, we all like sunshine and warmth. It makes us feel good! But the rains that come in winter are essential to the cycle of life – essential to life itself. If there was only sunshine and no rain we would eventually begin to dislike the sun and its heat and if it persisted we would shrivel up and eventually expire.
All the seasons, with all their variety and extremities are vital to our existence on earth and vital to our spiritual existence.
The seasons and our lives are intrinsically linked.
During a ‘personal’ season that feels harsh and very dark, we need to remember that the light does come. We need to look for the pearls within the season. Pearls of wisdom. Pearls of mercy. Peals of love. This is the season where things appear dormant but in actual fact, they are growing deep within and when they are ready, they will burst forth into new life – into a season of expectation and colour. The dormancy is over and the living begins again.
Embrace each season for what it is, always trusting God to lead you into the wonderful life that He has purposed for you. You are not an accident. You are not unknown.
You are the precious creation of a loving God who wants you to experience fullness of life.
Not a perfect, painless, pointless life … but the fullest of life, where you experience His presence, His purpose and His pleasure every day, every season in every way.
Look to Him in the season you’re in
And you will find peace and joy within.
Ecclesiastes 3 New International Version (NIV)
A Time for Everything
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.