It’s hard to believe it’s already mid-July! Here in New England, we are in the midst of summer. I love living in New England with its four seasons. My favorite is autumn. The leaves turn such amazing colors. A nice crisp breeze requires a light sweater or sweatshirt. Football kicks off. I know winter is cold and snowy, but it is also beautiful. Besides, celebrating Christmas wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts would just not be right to me. Spring has its bloom of new life as trees bud and flowers bloom. And, of course, summer. It is short but we get to enjoy sunshine, the beach, camping, grilling, and jumping in the pool. I am grateful to God for New England.
On day four of creation we read, “Then God said, ‘Let great lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.’ And that is what happened” (Genesis 1:14-15). So, the question is why? Were there seasons in the Garden of Eden? I don’t know. Why have them now? Because there are seasons everywhere. Even in the Sahara Desert of Africa, there is a rainy season, and in winter temperatures can drop from 104 to a “chilly” 60 degrees. But, again, why? If you were to create a world, would you not make every day a perfect, clear, mostly sunny, 75 to 80 degrees?
God obviously created an ecosystem that is interconnected. Each season supports life and feeds the season that succeeds it. But I also believe God is making a larger point and that is change happens. Our bodies change as we get older. Correspondingly, so do our abilities. At 60, we certainly cannot do all the things we could at 20. Circumstances change as well. Education. Marriage. Children. All these things change our lives. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average person will change careers 5-7 times throughout their working life.
No matter how hard we try or how much we want to avoid it, life will throw us curve balls as well as unexpected blessings. We will not see everything coming. We will encounter wonders and surprises throughout our life. The only thing we can count on to be constant is change. “As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night” (Genesis 8:22). We can’t fight it. And change is not always a bad thing.
Think about it. You and I have changed. When anyone believes in Jesus, everything changes. The Bible says, “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
The earth has seasons. So does life. As Solomon writes, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).
Whatever season you are in, embrace it. Live it to its fullest and be ready for whatever God has in store for you next. For, whatever circumstances you find yourself in right now, good or bad, it will always come with an opportunity to share Christ.
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