Seasons

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

One of the reasons I love Indiana is because of the change of seasons. Sometimes it's dramatic and sometimes one season just sort of slowly unfolds into another. Sometimes the seasons get all mixed up—like last week, when we had beautiful October mornings at the end of August. Though the seasons don't always correspond with the calendar, I do like living somewhere that you can tell the seasons apart.

We mark those changing of seasons with different rituals. Spring brings Easter and yard clean-up. Summer brings swimming pools, parades and short pants. Fall brings light jackets, bonfires and, for my mom, pumpkin spice. And winter brings snow. And sometimes more snow. (You might guess that winter is my least favorite season!) Oh, and Christmas. That's the good part of winter. Each event has its proper time. To shovel your driveway in July would be ridiculous. People look at you funny if you jump in the swimming pool in December. To everything, there is a season in which certain things are supposed to happen.

Chapter 3 is probably the most well-known chapter in the entire book of Ecclesiastes. I have read it at many funerals because it reminds us that all things have their place. There are times and seasons for the events in our lives. God has ordered life so that it works the best. The problem we often have is that we are so busy anticipating the next season in life we forget to slow down and enjoy the one we are in.

We do this especially when we are younger. I know I see parents with younger children now and I can't help but think back on the moments I missed because I was in a hurry or preoccupied with something else. We want our kids to grow up, and then when they do, we miss the younger years. Or we do this in our families. We are so busy making a living we forget to make a life. I'm trying these days to slow myself down and pay attention—notice the season I am in and be grateful for it. It's far easier to make the most of this season than to regret the ones I missed.

Ecclesiastes reminds us that the season we are in is just where we need to be. God has created this season in your life just for you, for now. Rather than anticipating what is ahead or regretting what is past, take a moment today and thank God for the season you are in right now. He is with you in this time, in this season, in this moment. That, alone, is reason to give thanks.