Seasons

A few days ago the weather people told us that fall had officially arrived.  Along with their assessment came some moderated temperatures and cool breezes.  A few days were enjoyed outside which did not end up with a moment of wringing the moisture out of your shirt.  And, then it happened.  The heat returned with a vengeance and everyone was wondering about the arrival of fall.  After a day or two of summer temperatures and blazing sun, it seems that fall is still out yonder somewhere and waiting to come.     

Such is the nature of seasons.  There is no arbitrary day which signals their actual departure or arrival.  Seasons change, but never as abruptly as going from one day on the calendar to another.  And, of course, not all seasons are defined by the calendar.  Some of the seasons are defined by the things which show up in our life and dominate our spirit.  We have seasons of joy.  We have seasons of new beginnings.  We have seasons of grief.  We have seasons of coming and seasons of going.   The list is endless.  As the Old Testament writer says, "For everything there is a season...."   (Ecclesiastes 3:1)     

As we get away from the seasons of the calendar and consider the seasons of our life, we begin to understand that seasons are like the tides which slip up and down across the shoreline.  They seem to come and go.  For awhile a season may seem to be in the past and then before a breath can be taken, we find ourselves once again caught up in the rising of it once again in our life.  Such should not surprise us.   As God has ordered the seasons of our calendar, so has He ordered the coming and going of the seasons which touch our souls.