Seasons: Day 1

Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration…

Jeremiah 8:7

As I write this, it is August and it is hot. The recent rains were only a temporary respite from temperatures that promised 90’s and threatened 100’s. But, I know this: the heat of August won’t last forever and better days—days of dappled sun and fall breezes—are ahead. I know that because I have experienced many years and many seasons.

For over a decade we lived in a house on a hill that was surrounded by trees. At some point in the heat of a Texas summer, I would notice that a random leaf or two, here and there, on this tree and that, had begun to color up. Nothing had changed, weather-wise, but for those who understood the signs, autumn was announcing that it was alive and well and on its way.

Weather is uncertain. In spite of their best efforts and millions of dollars in scientific instruments, weathermen often miss the mark. But the seasons? They will come. Maybe a bit sooner or later than we wish, but they will come. Why? Because their patterns and rhythms were set in place by the One who created them.

Scripture tell us that everything in the created world models a spiritual truth. So it is with the seasons of our lives. The One who made us, set us in the place He chose for us--for His purposes. With David we can say that the days of our lives were “written for me before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).

The God who turns green leaves autumn gold and scarlet, is working in all our lives. His ways are frequently silent and often imperceptible, but in the appropriate season, all the color and beauty He intended from the beginning will burst forth.

For by Him [Jesus Christ], all things were created: all things in heaven and on earth…He is before all things and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16, 17).

Nancy Shirah