As Seasons Change, So Do Our Lives

Posted on April 22, 2013 by 4Seasons2013

“But God was always there doing the good things that prove He is real. He gives you rain from heaven and good harvests at the right times. He gives you plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy”— Acts 14:17(ERV).

 Across the nation, winter has clung tenaciously, refusing to give in to spring, which officially announced its presence on man’s calendar last month. However, that hasn’t stopped early-blooming flowers, like Phlox and Hyacinths, from revealing their faces. These two plants, growing in my flowerbeds, withstood recent cold snaps, including some light snow several weeks ago.

However, these early spring flowers do not last long. My Hyacinths are already fading. but the Phlox hasn’t yet reached its peak. Other perennial flowers in my beds will begin to reveal their beauty soon and as I add colorful annuals, the blooms of both will provide a harvest of splendor and joy. They also provide nutrition for bees, butterflies and birds, gracing my life with their presence.

Although I appreciate each season, working in my flowerbeds in the spring and summer bring a peace that only those who love getting their hands dirty in God’s good earth can understand. We are the ones who eagerly anticipate the delivery of new flowers, shrubs and trees to local nurseries and home improvement stores. We listen to the weatherman, praying that his forecast will announce the end of winter weather, even if the calendar claims the arrival of spring.

Just as the seasons change in nature, the seasons of our lives change as well. Our marital status may change. Our children will grow up and leave home (hopefully). We’re hired for a job but then laid-off.  Our parents will pass away. We move to a different house or community because of status changes, including job moves, downsizing or divorce. We face critical health issues or lose a loved one unexpectedly. We look in the mirror each morning and see new wrinkles and grey hair, if we still have hair.

Recently, a friend and I were discussing the upcoming move of neighbors with an elementary-aged son who is not looking forward to leaving his friends. We both agreed that it is probably easier on younger students to adjust in a new school system than for older ones. However, I can recall being uprooted at age 16 to move almost 600 miles to a rural area where my mother had been raised. My sister and I adjusted well, even though we had to leave childhood friends behind.

In any aspect of our lives, we will move from a place of security into the unknown. Embracing those changes in our lives can be difficult. However, if we see these changes as opportunities for growth, anticipating what God will do next in our lives, we can adjust, with His help. He will provide whatever we need in any season of life, just as He provides whatever nature needs to flourish.

Find a way to embrace the beauty of each new season of your life. Know that nothing stays the same forever, except our Heavenly Father.

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A Tiny Purple Flower

Posted on April 22, 2011 by 4Seasons2013

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end. He will stand upon the earth.”  Job 19:25 (NIV)

It was small and almost hidden by the remnants of dead leaves whose brown color still carpeted the cold ground. But the bright purple flower caught my attention.

It was a sign that a new season was struggling to emerge after a harsh Oklahoma winter. It was also Easter. I smiled when I saw the beauty of the flower’s fragile petals because it was a reminder of hope renewed with the resurrection of Christ.

I was hiking that chilly Sunday afternoon with my grandchildren and their parents. The sighting of the flower poking its purple head through the damp earth drew me closer to a time in my life when, like my grandchildren, all was right with the world.

My grandchildren’s delight in the beauty of the still brown and gray scenery, interrupted occasionally by patches of early blooming grass, made me pause and inhale the crisp air that cleared my head, still fogged by winter’s cobwebs. I couldn’t get enough.

As we hiked deeper into the woods and down to a stream, I was transported back to my childhood days, before I was aware that the people you loved could disappoint you and before I understood the deep, abiding love of the One who never would. As a child, I could spend hours alone outdoors. While others formed teams to play ball, I was content to sit or lie silently in the grass. Fascinated by bugs, rocks, flowers and blades of tall grass, I was completely unaware of the passing of time.

That Sunday afternoon, as I climbed the hills and then descended through the valleys with my loved ones, time stood still again. Sounds of civilization were overshadowed by the creek water as it tumbled over rocks and bounced off the banks. The occasional sound of a bird punctuated the air, reminding us that we were not alone.

We skipped rocks in the creek that had recently overflowed its banks after a rainstorm had flooded parts of the area. We studied the intricacies of unusual tree roots that had forced their way above ground, yet had withstood the weathering of time and nature. Fascinated by green moss growing on rocks and tree stumps, we touched the velvet fabric with the tips of our fingers.

My larger, time-weathered hand found comfort in holding the smaller hands of my grandchildren as we walked that day. There was no reason to hurry as we stopped to observe other mysteries, like mushrooms and that tiny flower of hope.

Hope, renewed in something as small as a flower poking its head through the brown soil of life and as basic as God’s love for us, is His promise of better things to come. It came wrapped in a simple hike through His creation to experience the true blessings of Easter, not wrapped in brightly colored foil or synthetic grass but presented unpretentiously in a magnificent way.

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