Whatever the Season

 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 17^th 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).

 Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quoted is from the New Living Translation.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven...

Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV

Changes

Year after year, one season ends; another one begins. In books (and in life), one chapter closes; another one begins. People come into our lives; people leave. The tides flow in and out. Flowers bloom; flowers fade. 

Since changes surround us, you’d think we’d learn to accept them more easily, wouldn’t you? But we resist them; sometimes we run from them! However, we'll experience more peace and happiness if only we'll take the advice Jim Milligan (President/CEO of BlueLetter Bible.org) gave in that organization's Summer 2018 newsletter: 

“I pray that as the summer season winds to a close, you will continue to see Christ and what He has done for you. It may look different from what you had planned, but rest in the assurance it will ultimately be for His glory, and your good.”

He's right! And so is Amy Carmichael who said, "In acceptance lieth peace." 

Therefore, it's crucial that you and I not only ACCEPT changes—even those we had not planned, even those we never wanted, even those that terrify us—but that we also REST in the assurance that even those changes will result in God’s glory and our good. Even if we can’t see how that will ever happen, God can see, and He can—and will—make ALL the changes result in glory for Him and good for us.

Spring Is Sure to Follow

There's an old proverb that says, "No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." That's so true, isn't it? However, when we're in the cold clutches of winter, we tend to think spring will never come. Likewise, we often think that we're stuck forever in a harsh season of life. But, rest assured, a gentler, more beautiful, more hopeful season will surely follow since God designed the seasons--and our lives--to stay on schedule. 

While reflecting on the cyclical seasons of life, I like to recall the words to Great Is Thy Faithfulness, a favorite hymn of mine, written by Thomas O. Chisholm in the early 1900s.

The chorus of the song praises God for His great faithfulness toward us and mentions that daily we see how gracious God is to us and how He so faithfully provides all we need. 

The verses mention specific ways God demonstrates His faithfulness. For example, even the seasons and the solar system attest to His great faithfulness. 

God didn't just create the world and all the living creatures that inhabit it and then walk away. No! He faithfully keeps everything (even our lives!) "on schedule"--day after day, year after year.

Thus, we learn that we can trust Him to faithfully care for us and to make sure that "No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." Trust Him. Thank Him. Praise Him.

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! 

His mercies never cease. 

Great is his faithfulness; 

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:22, 23, New Living Translation

To sing along with the song, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cACqcURyvJA 

Stripped Bare

I love the sight of a tree standing apart from others.  And when I can photograph not only that tree but also its reflection, that's even "more better," to borrow a phrase young children often use.

When I saw the tree* in this photo growing in the wetland at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in mid-February, I just had to make a photo of it. Perhaps other passersby didn't give that tree a second glance, but I did.

*There may be another tree in that cluster of trunks. I can't really tell for sure.

I think it's beautiful, even though the winter season has stripped away its greenery, exposing its basic structure and texture. My eyes delight in the many v-shapes formed as the tree grew and extended itself. And the reflection doubles my delight.

As I look at the photo I took of that tree, I think about how life often strips us down to "bare bones." When that happens, we may not feel beautiful any more, but if we allow suffering to make us rather than break us, we will exhibit a beautiful spirit.

That's the kind of beauty 1 Peter 3:3-4, NASB, prescribes for women:

And let not your adornment be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

Beauty, whether seen in trees or in people, is said to be in the eyes of the beholder. Thus, we do well to remember that God sees us very differently than we and/or others see us. For example, when God sent Samuel to anoint a king for Israel, Samuel thought he had found the right man when he saw Eliab, one of the sons of Jesse. But the LORD said to Samuel:

Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7, NASB).

God sees us, stripped bare of outer trappings. He sees us as we truly are. Oh, may He delight in what He sees, and may our essence reflect Him who dwells within us.

Just Bloom!

I like this photo of a flowering cabbage that was growing in a big pot outside a museum in Beaufort, South Carolina, in February. As I looked more closely at it as I was editing it, I took time to read about it. I learned that it grows best during the "Cool Season" of the year: Fall through early Winter. Unlike other plants that require warmer temperatures, the flowering cabbage begins to flourish when temperatures are below 50 degrees. Since many gardens look desolate and dead during the "Cool Season," the cabbage provides beauty that is appreciated by all who pass by.

As I reflected on that, I realized that beauty in an unexpected place and/or at an unexpected time appears more striking because of the contrast between it and its drab surroundings. Might that be true of our lives? When we are in difficult situations yet are flourishing in spirit, aren't we shining examples of the power of God to sustain us--no matter what's going on? 

Might it be that our Creator knows exactly where to place (plant) us so that we can thrive, even when conditions, seemingly, are less than favorable?

Might we do well to just bloom, without any complaining about the environment He chooses for us?

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To everything there is a season... (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

There Is a Season...

In His Time

Several years ago, a friend who lives in Nevada said, “We have five inches of snow on the ground—and more on the way."

“Well, then," I said, "I won’t e-mail you the spring photos I’d planned to send you. I wouldn’t want you to think I was saying, ‘Ha! Ha! We have spring and you don’t!’”

   “Oh, I wouldn’t think that!” she replied. “Go ahead and send the photos. They’ll encourage me!”

   As I scrolled through dozens of digital photos I’d uploaded to my computer, I had a hard time deciding which ones to send. I finally settled on five.

   When I checked my e-mail the following morning, her reply was waiting for me. “The pictures are just gorgeous. Thanks for sending them.  Makes spring feel a little closer for me.”

I knew she was as eager for spring as I was! Early in February I began going outside frequently to check for signs of spring. Once they began appearing, I was so excited. I took pictures, pictures, and more pictures of the daffodils, of the delicate blooms on the flowering almond tree, and of anything and everything that had color!

I don’t know if I could stand to wait until late March or April or perhaps early June for spring to arrive, as folks in colder climates have to do. I’m sure I, like everyone else, would be asking, “Will it ever be spring?”

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 in a season, 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 enjoy some seasons more 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 17^th 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). And then wait patiently for Him to provide the next season--in His time.

© 2012 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill, www.jgaskill.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quoted is from the New Living Translation.

Artist at Work

When Fall was at its peak in the area where I live, I regularly passed by a church sign that read, "Artist at work. Slow down." I smiled each time I read that, knowing that the beautiful landscapes all around were, indeed, some of God's finest masterpieces. I did slow down to look at His work and to thank Him for all He had created--and for giving me the vision to see His work.

Along about that same time, a columnist for one of our local newspapers interspersed one of his columns with various quotes about Fall. I especially agreed with this one by Nathaniel Hawthorne: "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." Because I feel as he did, I've been out and about a lot these last few weeks.

Whether walking in my yard or in other scenic spots, I've had experiences similar to the one Eric Sloane described: "A few days ago [as] I walked along...[I] was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made."

Fall...a glorious season indeed! One of God's gifts to us! Let's slow down to look at His work and to take the time to go outside to feel the crispness in the air and to hear crunch of the leaves beneath our feet.

(c) 2011 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill. Note: The photos in this post are just a sample of the beauty I've seen. I hope you enjoy them!