Changing Seasons (by Karen Lindberg)

We had our first hard freeze a few weeks ago and the next morning as I drove to work, I saw a tree that the leaves were pouring off of.  In our hometown we have the most beautiful tree-lined street and just a few days prior to the freeze I drove down that road and thought about how amazing the colors were as the trees turned from green to beautiful oranges, reds and yellows.  I felt a little sadness in my heart as I watched the leaves hit the ground and the looming bareness that was quickly approaching.

I don’t know that I have ever witnessed leaves fall quite like that.  I love the change in seasons, but I couldn’t help but think about the impending darkness that the street would hold as we head into winter.  For some reason, my mind has continued to go back to that tree and the changing of the seasons.  I wasn’t ready for it for this year like I normally am.  Maybe it’s because with each changing season, I am vividly aware of how our lives are changing.  Time is passing quickly and when the leaves return in the spring, we will be in another season of our lives as well. 

As I pondered over those trees and those leaves, I began to think about our life journey and the road that we travelled on.  There have been some dark days.  There have been some days when the darkness was looming, and it felt as though I was suffocating.  There have been some days where it seemed as though the leaves and the seasons were changing around me, and all hope was lost.  Some days it felt as though the beauty of the world was stolen from us overnight, just like the beautiful trees that were losing their leaves that morning.  When the world fell dark the night before, everything was normal, but the next morning it looked completely different.  Something was missing in the blink of an eye.

As I reflected on those trees and those hard moments in my life, I realized that the part that I couldn’t see at the time was the beauty that would unfold in the future.  Just like the changing of the seasons and the trees, with time, beauty would rebuild itself.  In the spring, those trees would bring new buds, and the world would feel bright and beautiful again.  We had to weather the hard winter, but God’s beauty was waiting on the other side.  This season was temporary.  The storm would pass, and hope would spring anew.

Some seasons we are ready for and some we are not.  Some seasons we prepare for and some prepare us.  Some seasons are dark and feel hopeless and some radiate with goodness and beauty.  Through all of that, the one thing you can be certain of is that whatever season it is, it is temporary.  There is light in the darkness and hope on the horizon.

Maybe you are going through a season with falling leaves and darkness looming.  Maybe you are in season that feels like loss and hopelessness.  Maybe your scenery changed in an instant, and you are struggling to see God’s beauty.   If so, know that this is simply that, a season.  God’s goodness awaits.  Whatever season you may be facing may you know that it is temporary and there is light around the corner.  As always, I am praying for you!