Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Seasons


"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: ...
~Ecclesiastes 3:1





As we turn the calendar on a new year, I'm reminded that seasons come and seasons go. If the passing of the Christmas season wasn't reminder enough, the frigid temperatures as I walked outside this morning were a blaring indication that the winter season is upon us.

Life is a series of seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey. Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We measure life by seasons. And typically, while in the midst of one season we find ourselves looking forward to the next. In the dead of Winter, most look forward to the awakening of Spring as it brings forth it's new life. The dog-days of Summer often bring a desire for Fall with it's cooler temperatures and beautiful foliage. For six months out of the year, most men long for football season. That's just the way we are, isn't it?

I've learned that it's that way on the inside of each of us, too. There are seasons in our souls. We've all tasted Spring, when everything seems so fresh and new and alive. Many know the pleasure of Fall, when there is a great harvest and your soul is bursting with goodness as you reap of God's bounty. Maybe you've even known Winter, when its seems your heart is so cold it could crack and the landscape of your life seems frozen and dead. Maybe you find yourself there as we begin 2008. If so, don't despair. You're not alone. We've all been there at one time or another. (Some of us are there with you right now.)
Instead, take heart. Spring is coming. You can count on it. Keep praying. Stay in the Scriptures. And before long, you'll begin to see signs of life breaking through the barren ground. No season lasts forever.

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