Seasons

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV).

So apparently Pete Seeger committed a minor act of plagiarism. Solomon (or at least he's the historically accepted author) shared his thoughts as an aged man many years ago on the seasons of life. After years of observation, this is his conclusion - that life is made up of seasons and for everything that we encounter and all that we are caught up in doing, there is a time for it all. No need to excessively worry, the new season will come. No need to indulge too deeply in regret, this season will pass and lead headlong into what's next. It really is a beautiful thing that our Creator set in motion for us. There is just a natural ebb and flow to our lives and the influence of and definition by seasons cannot be overstated.

Here in upstate NY we are blessed with incredibly distinct seasons. Our winters are cold and harsh, Spring seems to take a little too long to arrive and always seems to be less than promised (I had an English teacher in Middle School that would say it's "a day late and a dollar short" - thanks Mr. McCabe). Summer is simply amazing - rarely too hot, not too humid, and just gorgeous. And then there's fall - crisp nights, apple-picking, harvest festivals, and the colors. Now before we go any farther here it is imperative to understand that I could seriously live my entire life in summer or at least that's what I think in March when I still have 3 feet of snow in my yard. I love sunshine and warmth, love to be outside from 6 am all the way through 9 pm, love camping in the Adirondacks, hiking, swimming, early morning runs, all of it. But, even with all of my affinity to the summertime, there's something within in me that just gets to the point of readiness as the summer hits its close. The air is a bit crisper in the morning, the garden has yielded just about all it is going to, the sun is setting sooner, and the heat of the summer is behind us. There is no way to pinpoint when exactly it happens, but somewhere along the line in late August, my heart begins to grow weary of the current season and long for a new one.

It is funny how that works, isn't it? Just a few months prior, my longing heart would have given anything to experience just one day of sunshine and warmth, just one hint of the smell of fresh-cut grass, just one evening barbeque with good friends. But, alas, that season passed too, didn't it? It yielded to the onslaught of summer and with it came all the blessings (and curses) of this season. And now, this season is nearing its close as well. And my heart is ready. I am excited. I have great expectations for this next season. I can almost taste the fresh baked apple pies, the cider doughnuts, the pumpkin lattes, etc. I want to pick apples with my kids, take them to a high school football game, don sweatshirts and play football and soccer in the yard, take them into the mountains to see the foliage. I am ready. An interesting thing will happen though. Around mid-November, I'll be ready for Winter, excited about sledding and snowmen, and the Christmas season, and I'll forget how much fun I was having in fall. And I've seen this pattern play out again and again in my own life for 30 years now...Hopeful excitement leads to euphoric enjoyment leads to restless monotony leads to weariness leads to hopeful excitement....

The seasons are like that. They afford us the opportunity to enjoy the place we find ourselves, and still feel the tension of what is not yet. They breed hope and expectation. They all bring their own flavor and own specifics.

Today I am praising God for granting us life seasons; for allowing the opportunity to enjoy our current state, yet experience the hopeful tension of what is yet to be. And for me, personally, I am weary of the current situation (like the feeling you get during the late-March blizzard in NY), and am re-invigorated with hopeful expectation of this wildly appealing season that God is preparing for us. My restless heart has been divinely readied and I pray that yours will be as well...