Sunday, May 23, 2010

seasons

"to everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven." when i think of seasons, my mind, like most people's, shifts directly to the natural seasons- spring, summer, fall, and winter. these seasons are predicatble, identifiable, natural...we know what to expect and when to expect it. (for the most part, at least!) after a cold winter, we welcome the signs of spring- the flowers begin to bloom, the weather warms, the "april showers bring may flowers." spring turns to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, winter back to spring, and the cycle repeats, year after year after year. i like these seasons, and i usually welcome the changes and the beauty that each season offers. i'm a person who like order and structure, i like to be able to plan, and so these seasons fit nicely into my way of thinking and organzing the world. the seasons mentioned in ecclesiastes 3 however, can be a little disrupting. seasons of weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, war and peace, love and hate- they don't order themselves as nicely into my way of thinking. i think it's pretty safe to say that this scripture can either bring great comfort or great distress. when things in our lives are going well, the reminder that the smooth sailing is only temporary, and that surely our laughter will turn to weeping can be flat out depressing! the words of jesus in john 16:33 can have the same effect "in this world, you will have tribulation..." jesus did not say may have it, could have, he said you WILL have tribulation. when things are going well, we are forwarned and should be aware that they will not always stay that way. some call this pessimism, i call it being realistic.
on the flip side however, when you are stuck in the middle of tribulation, when you are mourning, when you are weeping, these scriptures can comfort like none other. the promise that it will not stay this way forever provides the hope necessary to face another day.
i've found in my life that these seasons are not predictable, not orderly, and at times, not even natural. but what i have also found to be true is that god is faithful. he is true to his word and true to his promises. the latter part of john 16:33 says "but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world." in the midst of the weeping and the mourning, i am constantly encouraged not only by the father's great, great love for me, but also by his promises that this season will not be forever.

1 comment:

  1. I'm loving this! You know, even when I initiate change...and how often do I do that, Kara?, the butterflies start the fluttering! When change comes at me from other sources, wow...I really have to hold on. No matter what, God is right there taking care of me. Just like Danny said yesterday in his sermon, sometimes our sandcastle gets wiped out by a crashing wave. We have to really listen to God to know whether to rebuild that sandcastle or start building another one...always remembering our Heavenly Father has the master plan for all sandcastles. Love you and so proud of you, Karabelle!

    ReplyDelete