by Fred Hughes, M.Photog.
Winter is just not my most beloved time of the year! Christmas, I love. Cold I cannot handle! I am most certainly a Summer person. At the earliest hint of Spring, I start to develop an itch in the palm of my hand, and nothing can bring any relief except a fishing pole or a golf club! At this writing it is mid-March, and I am so ready for the return of regular warmth! For months now I have felt like the little fox in the photo above. Have you noticed that like the planet we live on and our individual lives seem to move through seasons? We experience sunshiny summers and hard cold winters. Seasons are to enjoy; and seasons are to endure, or sometimes simply survive. Life presents time frames we must navigate through. The loss of a loved one, a good job, a cherished relationship are all difficult to work through. Most winter experiences are unpleasant to deal with. Other seasons are more like Spring with everything fresh and new, full of life, busting out with the beauty of hope glowing in the morning sun! OK, OK, you get the picture. We have good and not-so-wonderful seasons we move through on our journey, right?
“How do you handle season changes?
Season changes, both kinds, are going to come and go. How we handle them is important and affects the direction and quality of our lives as they unfold. There are some things we do in season and out of season. 2 Timothy 4:2 suggests some things we need to be prepared to do during any season. In Christian believer’s lives, we should, like Timothy, be ready to preach the Word of God no matter what the season.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven … (11) He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Verse 11 is huge! You are a very important part of “everything.” Your life is beautiful! Especially when you are in season. So the question is: when are you in season? When are you beautiful?
What about Winter? Is it possible to be “in season” when the season you are currently in is one of losing a loved one, being without a job, or even battling with a sickness or a financial challenge?
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Winter is a season of life. Thankfully, it is not all of life. There is a new season coming. However, while you may be in a winter season, it does not mean that nothing of value is taking place. A tree buds and blooms in the Spring. That same tree leafs out and produces fruit in the Summer, and it displays awesome color in Autumn. The same tree appears to be barren and doing nothing in the Winter, but not so! Trees are working hard to expand and extend the underground root system that supports the tree through all of the seasons. When you find yourself in the middle of Winter, grow deeper roots! Dig into the solid ground of the Word and Wisdom and be prepared to support the coming seasons as they arrive.
Do the flowers or the birds work hard at being beautiful? Neither should you. Just be who God created you to be in every season, and God will be faithful to do it! Yes, make you beautiful. The little fox in the cover photo is in an uncomfortable season, but he is still beautiful!
Fred Hughes, M. Photog.
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