Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Season(s) of a year or life (01/13/11)
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TITLE: How's The Weather? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jeff Lambert
01/17/11 -
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Our lives, though not as predictably cyclical, might also be defined as seasonal, could they not? The writer of Ecclesiastes said to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. There is a time for love and laughter, a season of spring. Refreshing with the new life it offers this season is particularly inviting and invigorating; life is good! We often wish that we could stay in this place forever because when we are here we feel young, alive and vital. It’s easy to fellowship with God in this season, all we have to do is look around; He’s everywhere. This is a season of celebration!
Here in Minnesota we often say “You have to make hay when the sun shines.” Summer means it’s time to work. This season of our lives is when we roll up our sleeves and get busy. We raise our families, build our homes, establish our careers or professions and do things for God; we have found our rhythm and rejoice in our purpose. This is a season of conquering!
Autumn comes quietly and suddenly. An unexpected frost overnight kills the flowers and the produce in the garden. One comfortable night you go to bed and the next day you wake up to a chilly morning and realize that the weather is changing. This season of life is sometimes characterized by loss, either real or perceived, and is often punctuated with a question mark: “The kids are grown and are making their own way, but will they be okay?” “Even though I’ve been there twenty years my position has been eliminated; now what will we do?” “Lord, I know You are faithful and that You love me; but right now I’m afraid and don’t know which way to turn. What should I do, Jesus?” This is a season of concern.
When winter comes to the great white north everything comes to a cold, icy, screeching halt. There are no picnics or beaches, no one goes for a long walk and you see neighbors with snow blowers instead of lawn mowers. There are some who actually experience a state of depression, due to the shortened daylight hours that winter brings. This life season seems to be cold, harsh and unyielding. What’s worse is that we often see no end in sight. A loved one has died, before their time or so it seems; the friends we once laughed with are now nowhere to be seen; once so promising, dynamic and full, life now seems cold and indifferent. We feel old and used up. It’s easy, in the midst of this season, to ask “Where are you again, Lord?”
I heard someone use the expression “A 30,000 foot view” when describing the need to get the “big picture.” For we who know and love Christ, Romans 8:28 is our 30,000 foot view; “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT). Seasons come and seasons go; some more desirable and pleasant than others. Yet regardless of whether the sun is shining or clouds have rolled in, whether we are in a season of rejoicing or in a time of testing, we know that our lives, like the changing seasons, are unfolding just as He planned.
How’s the weather in your world?
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