Seasons

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...

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time for war and a time for peace.

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

I love the changing of the seasons. As we head into fall weather, I am enjoying the cool, crisp nights and seeing the trees start to change into bright bursts of fiery colour. I doubt there will be any smell of woodstove here among the condos, so I'll have to imagine that one (does anyone make woodstove-scented candles?). But at least there will be hydro savings now that open windows are enough to cool this place down. And hey, pulling out the fall clothes is not unlike getting a new wardrobe, right?

I've always said that I would never want to live in a place that where the weather was constant. Summer and blue skies and beaches are great for a while, but I would actually miss having snow from time to time. Of course, one could argue that if I love having 4 seasons, Ontario is not the best choice of locale, but, well, here we are. And it is NOT always winter (though it feels like it, come late March).

If you've been following this blog, you may have noticed that it's been a bit quiet here lately. Okay, it's been completely silent. And that's largely due to the fact that we're changing seasons around here--new church planting season, new parenting season, new school year. The funny thing is that as much as I love going through the annual changing of the seasons, I'm not such a fan of new seasons when it comes to the story of my life. There are many times that I wish I could just plop myself down in a particular season of life and stay there, at least for a good long while. Or, I wish that I could fast-forward through several seasons until I get to one that seems a little more comfortable.  Changing seasons involves new ways of doing things, a reordering of priorities, new tasks, old tasks to which I now need to say "no" or "not so much", and the acceptance that there are good and pleasant things that I will not ever have in the same form again. (Granted, there are also things to which I say a hearty, "Good-bye, and may we never meet again!") And it often seems like I'm just settling into a routine, just beginning to feel like I've got this one under control, when I'm sent spinning into another season with new demands for which I feel completely under-equipped. Do you ever feel this way?

But in the midst of changing seasons, I am more than thankful for an unchanging God! When things feel confusing or out of control, I'm thankful that we have a God who always knows what is coming and always has it under perfect control. When I have to lay aside projects or hobbies or blogging for a time because a new season is more demanding of me, I am thankful that our God never runs out of time or energy to do everything He wants to accomplish in my life and in our world. When I feel completely under-equipped to handle the rigours of a new stage of life, I am thankful that God's power is made perfect in my weakness. And I am thankful that in all the seasons of life, I never need to worry that any of these truths about God will change and somehow leave me hanging.

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

but you are the same, and your years have no end.

(Psalm 102:25-27)

Fall is here and winter is coming. But even if the beauty of fall is short and the deadness of winter is long, whether the season is fun or challenging or downright agonizing, I can lean confidently on the unchanging nature of God until he brings me into the unchanging beauty of eternity.