Cooler temps have arrived in my little corner of the “land of pine trees and lakes”.  These cooler days are the first tease of fall.  I love autumn.  Sunflowers, football, hay bales and pumpkins.  Trees with their beautiful display of colors.  All of the gifts of fall are as welcome to me as the flowers and new growth in spring. 

God , in all of His wisdom, blessed us with the changing seasons.  I like living in an area where these changes are evident.  Life is like that,  full of change.  If it wasn’t, we would never appreciate where we’ve been or look forward to where we are going.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds me “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.”  Solomon also said in verses 11&12 of chapter 3, “God has made everything beautiful for it’s own time.  He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Often we hear about different seasons of life.  Most often, people are talking about our childhood, youth, middle age and senior years.  That’s a little simplistic for my life.  Those are seasons of life yet I have found there are others as well.  Some of them I have been sad to know they were changing and others I couldn’t wait to move on.  Do you remember the excitement of starting each new phase of school -elementary, middle school, high school and then college?  How about starting a new job or marrying your sweetheart?  Those are all seasons.  Then there are others that may not be quite as exciting.  Your children growing up and going away to college or moving out on their own.  Losing a job and starting over.   Losing a spouse through divorce or death and wondering how you will cope in this new season alone.  Part of my survival during some of the seasons I have weathered is the knowledge that this too will pass.  A wise pastor of mine told me years ago, “nothing stays the same, good or bad.”  As our Bible verse says, “people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work…”. I think that is probably a blessing.  If we knew ahead some of the seasons we were going to pass through, we might not want to go forward and if we “saw” the really good stuff early, we would never enjoy the present.

I am in a new season.  I have been for about two years and as I look around, I see others I care about entering new seasons and others leaving some tough ones behind.  It’s good that our seasons change in nature and life.  One of my favorite movies is “Hope Floats”.  Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) makes a great statement about changes in life.  “Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad but it’s the middle that counts the most.  Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning.  Just give hope a chance to float up and it will too…”

Are you entering a new season?  If it’s an exciting one, take time to enjoy the ride!   If it’s one that you know immediately you are going to be glad when it’s in the past, Psalm 31:24 says “So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the Lord!”.  Birdee’s advice is great advice, “give hope a chance to float up and it will too…”

Until we visit again…
Live blessed,
Carmen