Seasons

The past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about seasons. I’ve had the joy of growing up experiencing four seasons a year (and sometimes in one day) my entire life, and as much as I complain about the snow and cold sometimes, I’m really thankful for the blessing of seasons and all that they can teach us about life.

Now that spring has officially sprung, I find myself constantly listening for the songs of the birds, taking in that warm sun on my face, and reveling in the familiar smell of freshly cut grass. I’ve also noticed a general rise in everyone’s spirits; faces seem a little bit brighter and the caf is a little bit noisier with the sounds of joyful chit-chat among slightly tanner college students who got rosy cheeks over the weekend.

One thing I’ve learned over the years, is that without winter, it’s hard to truly appreciate spring. Last night was one of those nights that mark the upcoming season and when you look back months later, you recall that being the start of everything that was to come. For the first time of the year, I donned shorts and a t-shirt and ran around barefoot in the lawn with my family, giggling with little cousins and playing soccer with my brother and boyfriend. Later on, I sat and watched the stars come out, simply looking up and taking the time to think (which, quite frankly, I often forget to do). As I sat there looking back  on the day that marked the beginning of the warm weather to come over the next many months, I thought about the past few years and all that’s taken place in my life over the course of time. And, just like the weather, I was struck with the beauty of seasons.

How boring would life be if we spent it in eternal winter? Or even summer, for that matter? Change is good. I was reminded last night that transitions are beautiful and even the smallest of miracles are worth celebrating (like the fact that robins build their own little cozy, intricate nests, anticipating the arrival of their feathered baby birds hatching out of beautiful baby blue eggs).

Yesterday, was a little bittersweet as I thought about the upcoming transitions and changes in my own life. With only nine more days in the semester, I’m about to end my junior year of college and move home for the summer, which means I won’t see my college friends for several months and readjusting to living under the same roof as my family once more. It means that before I know it, I’ll be starting my summer internship and working with kids at a church in my hometown, which I am super excited about, but know it’ll mean new adjustments. Yesterday marked my last Sunday with my home church for awhile, and beginning my first children’s ministry internship sounds a little scary at first. The end of the school year gets me thinking about how exactly a year from now, I’ll be getting ready to graduate from college and get thrown out into the real world. This also reminds me that I still don’t really know what I want to do with my life, but I’m reminded that it’s okay.

I’m reminded of the sweet reminder in Ecclesiastes that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (3:1). I’m reminded that God knows His plans for me, therefore I have no need to be anxious. Just as He provides for the little robins, so too he loves and will take care of me.

I am thankful for spring, I am thankful for the fresh air, sunshine, and the beauty of nature awakening from hibernation in winter’s coldness.  I am thankful for new beginnings, fresh starts, transitions, and that there is always an abundance of joy available in every moment—sometimes we must simply seek out the simplest of miracles.

“There is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live…” Ecclesiastes 3:12