Seasons
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been rejoicing in the autumn beauty that is displayed in the trees and bushes in our surrounding area. I rather like this time of year when the foliage almost takes on a floral form, but on a much grander scale. This autumn seems to have been especially beautiful, and the weather has played ball, allowing the fall to be delayed longer than might have been the case. That is, until today. On my customary walk first thing, it was quite apparent that a change in the weather is bringing the inevitable close to this brief period of delightful colouration, the fallen leaves being greatly increased in volume and littering the footpaths, no longer crisp and bright but soggy and dulled. Seasons change. The trees whose canopies had obscured what lay beyond are fast taking on their winter, skeletal form. We might bemoan this drift into relative barrenness, but each season has its place, not in the calendar and environment alone, but in our lives as well. The starkness of winter is also a time to look forward positively, so long as we remember what will inevitably follow – spring, fresh life and new hope; we wouldn’t have the one without the other. I feel that we are blessed in the UK to have such marked seasonal changes.
Hope
We experience something akin to seasons within our personal lives. Times of rejoicing in achievement and fulfilment, and other occasions when our effort falls flat, expectation is not met, or when we are confronted with life-changing events, such as bereavement, that we have no control over. In such circumstances, we have to decide whether to bemoan our lot or to look forward to what God has for us next. Just as the leaves fall, disrupting the vision of loveliness that met our eyes during the seasonal change, we can choose either to dwell upon our regret at this loss or else decide to trust in what the future will hold come springtime.
Struggles
I can look back upon various times when my church life has been very fulfilling, and other occasions when my professional life has been especially rewarding. But these high points didn’t last forever; if they had, then they wouldn’t have stood out. Times such as these are certainly enjoyable, but do we live for those such that we feel despondent when they aren’t there to take delight in? We all face struggles of one sort or another, and I suggest that we need to recognise these as a part of God’s plan for a fulfilling life – they are things to trust him with and learn to stand firm in, and through. I often say that it is only when we trust him through difficult circumstances that we get to have testimony to his faithfulness in meeting our needs – no challenges; no testimony! And, of course, God is training us to grow and become mature in our faith, which doesn’t tend to happen when everything is going smoothly.
Humility
Apart from anything else, we need to grow in humility – to recognise our failings and weaknesses and to learn that everything that we have is by God’s grace. Whatever we may achieve, we should not do for ourselves – our tribute or gratification – but only for his glory and honour. We are his servants to do with as he wills; the accolade that we should aspire to is from him when he is able to say to us the words that Jesus quoted in the Parable of the Talents: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21,23). To be humble isn’t part of our nature as human beings; it is something that we need to grow into and is a key objective in God’s training program for each of his children. If we fail in this small thing, then how will he be able to entrust us with greater responsibility, and in situations where we will be exposed to a greater risk of taking pride and seeking self-aggrandisement?
Opportunities
The leaves of deciduous trees change colour and are shed because this is how God designed them to be. He chose the colours that they would turn, the wide variety of shades between one species and another, and the delightful, albeit momentary, carpet of biological confetti that we would be privileged to tread through on autumn days. This is all a part of his wonderful pattern for us to enjoy, but it is also a reminder that there are seasons in our own lives; times when we feel blessed, and others when we don’t. But these others are opportunities to reaffirm our trust and exercise hope in him for our future. Each season has its part within his plan for our growth and development; his perfect and purposeful plan, individually tailored for each and every one who has chosen to trust and follow him.