Excerpted from a column written in 2012 and published in the Chapel Hill News and Views magazine.
After the chilly, dreary
days of winter, we long for spring, for signs of new life, for splashes of
color, for warmer temperatures so that we can end our hibernation and get out
and about once again.
We long for the time when we can say, “… the winter is past, and the rain is over and gone. The flowers are springing up, and the time of singing birds has come … The fig trees are budding, and the grapevines are in blossom. How delicious they smell! Yes, spring is here!” (Song of Songs, 2:11-13a.)
But sometimes we feel
stuck in one season — in life, as well as in nature — don’t we? For example,
children often feel they’ll be children forever! They long to grow up and do
the things big people do. Likewise, people who are battling an illness may see
no end to that season.
Whenever we’re feeling
stuck, it’s good to remind ourselves of this truth: “There is a time for
everything, a season 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 cry and a time
to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance … ” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).
Although we like some
seasons better than others, we benefit from experiencing a variety of seasons
and cycles, else the Creator wouldn’t have designed them. In fact, we need the
harshness and bleakness of winter in order to appreciate the warmth and beauty
of spring. As 17th century poet Anne Bradstreet pointed out, “If we
had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes
taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
So … whatever time,
whatever season, we find ourselves in, especially if we’re feeling stuck in it,
let’s follow David’s example and humbly say to God, “My times are in thy hand …”
(Psalm 31:15, KJV).
