Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Seasons

Winter is finally fading away in my part of the world. It has been a long one. Everyone, and I do mean everyone I talk with in my community are "tired" of the snow, of the cold, of winter. Looking out at the trees surrounding my home I wonder when the green will appear. I am looking forward to green.

Having grown up in an area with essentially one season, sun and more sun, I have grown to appreciate the four seasons of my present living surroundings. Seasons do remind me of life and that indeed it does not always fair well. But, the best part is knowing that seasons are a duration of time; a season, if you're not living in the "one" season region, does not last forever. It will not always be winter; soon spring will pop its head up and pour over nature with color and renewal.

So is my faith walk. Living and walking with Jesus in a constant spring season sounds pretty nice. It surely would be very pleasant to not experience the barren bleakness of winter or the dying of fall. But there is something to this seasonal, faith experience. My winters become my toughing up against the frigid difficulties. I lean into the blizzard and while only progressing a short distance I am further along than I was prior. The progress is painful and biting, but, keeping in mind that this faith season cannot last forever I keep trudging forward and furtively bits of green poke through the snowy crust and after a while I am in winter no longer; my faith season has turned to spring!

Here is a portion from the Inward Journey by Gene Edwards.

I have observed through the years that most Christians have little understanding of the word 'season'. Our Lord is a seasonal God; He comes, He departs. his faithfulness never changes, but His seasons do! There are seasons when the tree is green, there are seasons when it is dry, and seasons when, for the life of us, the thing looks dead. Now, does this mean you are serving some capricious God who comes and goes by whim? Or, could it be, that it is only through 'seasons' that true growth may come?

Paul said, 'Does not nature teach us?' Fruit from a tree comes to us as a result of three or four seasons. The Christian and the Lord's body both need rain and sunshine, cold and hot, wind and doldrums.

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