NOVEMBER 3, 2003

SEASONS

The wall heater is going full blast next to me in my office. It’s a raw morning, with a hint of possible rain in the air. It’s hard to believe that a week ago we were enduring near-100° temperatures and wondering if we’d ever start wearing our fall clothes.

But to our surprise and delight, we find that there are seasons in Southern California. The grass knew it before we did and stopped growing. Some trees have begun dropping leaves. And football games are all over the television channels. These are sure signs of fall.

Of course, to people from Back East these California seasons seem kind of anemic. They like to talk about how deep the snow gets in their hometown and how many straight days of sub-zero weather they endured last winter. They tell us these things with pride, as if this somehow make them stronger than we are, with our subtle, LA-LA-land seasonal changes. (But they still come in droves for the New Year’s festivities so they can send sunny wish-you-were-here postcards to their frozen friends at home.)

California has just enough change from one season to the other to make us aware we are entering a new phase, without rubbing it in with blizzards and Arctic deep freezes.

God gave us the day-and-night cycle to teach us how to structure our lives. He gave us the week, ending with a day of restoration and reflection, to give our lives perspective. And he gave us seasons to teach us that we should anticipate long-term rhythms in our lives and handle each new experience with grace and growth.

This is what the author of Ecclesiastes expressed in his famous poem:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
This is just the beginning of the poem, as this obviously experienced person of faith reflects on life’s seasons.

Someone who follows the poet’s advice will adjust to each season. When the circumstances are bleak and the only possible response is weeping, a person of faith can comfort him/herself with the assurance that a time of laughing will surely come, as surely as spring follows winter. By the same token, a person of faith will not be fooled by feelings during a time of laughing into thinking this will last forever. She/he will soberly acknowledge that a time of weeping lies ahead, as surely as winter follows fall.

Ultimately, the seasons should remind us that life is short and will inevitably end in death. Yes, there is a time to be born, and there is also a time to die. This means that we are allotted a certain limited number of seasons on this earth. Using each one wisely, as a gift from God, requires a great amount of faith and grace.

Another ancient writer reflected on the measurement of a person’s life:
“The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong . . . . they are soon gone, and we fly away . . . . So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a wise heart.” (Psalm 90:10, 12)

A “wise heart” will cling to the Heavenly Father, the Creator, the Lord of all the seasons of our lives.

–Pastor George Van Alstine