Seasonal thoughts....

Everyone knows the life changing nature of the big events in life.  Birth, death, marriage, graduation, starting a new job, buying a new house - all present a fresh beginning, even as they hold an ending of some kind.  It is clear and obvious to everyone that the change has occurred, and it is expected that there will be a shift in your personal universe when they happen.

But there are other moments of change in life, as well, times when everything is suddenly different, a shift in the kaleidoscope of your personal universe.  Once you have made the leap, you can never move back again to the old pattern, because something fundamental has changed.

These much less obvious moments, times that only you know within yourself, can start in the middle of an obvious life change, of course.  A first baby cannot help but change your world forever.  The death of a loved one is impossible to endure without reevaluating your own existence.

But sometimes these changes come unexpectedly.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, the world is a little different for reasons that are less obvious, or perhaps a mystery even to ourselves.  A conversation changes your perspective.  A moment of prayer opens your eyes to new possibilities.  Windows close, but doors open in your mind, and suddenly, where you thought the mosaic was set in a unchanging pattern, the light shifts, and you are seeing things in a whole new way.

In Ecclesiastes 3, verses 1 and 3 we read,

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build."

It can be difficult sometimes to know what season we are in.  Life is confusing, and the various cycles we endure throughout the 80 or so years that the average person lives are varied and different for each individual.  Although we often look at life as a seasonal prospect, starting in spring and heading towards winter, in fact, the seasons aren't that slow and static.  The 17 year old with the Olympic gold medal may be in the fall or winter of that season of dreams, where they have reached the apex of their goal, now ready to move on to a new challenge.  Likewise, Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't start her literary career until she was well into her 60's, beginning an entirely new life just as most people are in the process of winding down.

The only thing required of us is to be open to God's leading.  If we follow his plan for our lives, our own kaleidoscopic shifts will occur in God's perfect timing, and anything can happen.  With God in control, the death of our old ideas can lead to something new and so much richer than we ever imagined, and when we tear away the old clutter from our hearts and minds, there is room for new that we could never have imagined.

Many children repeat the prayer, "God is great, God is good."  How true those words are.  Open your heart to his goodness, and great things will happen in the perfect timing of God's season, no matter what season you are at in your life.